Last Of Her Kind
by The GamerSwordsman
Summary: Instead of being killed Aerith is sent to a far away place which she learns is Paris France. There is where she meets Sly Cooper, and as the two get to know each other will something happen between them? And how will this affect a certain inspector who is dead set on putting Sly behind bars?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello everyone, I just wanted to thank all of you who voted on my poll that had been up for a while now. (I may have only gotten one vote, but that's okay) I'm not for sure if I'll do another one though, but anyway the winning pairing was Sly Cooper x Aerith Gainsborough. Anyway the summary for the story is what if Sephiroth decided to get rid of Aerith in a different type of way instead of killing her? And what if the young woman ended up in Paris and was found by a certain anthropomorphic raccoon? Of course this is all I'm going to say since I don't want to give away too much. So I hope you will enjoy this story.**

**I don't own anything.**

Last Of Her Kind

Aerith Gainsborough slowly opened her eyes after she was finished with her prayer. And as she began to stand up onto her feet a man with spiky blonde haired asked, "So do you think your prayer got through in time?"

"Don't worry Cloud, I know it will work." The brunette reassured her friend, as she started to walks him and the rest of their group.

But before she even reached her friends she heard the blue eyed young man's voice again as he shouted, "Aerith, look out!"

Hearing this caused the young woman to look up and see a sliver haired man with a very long sword come towards her at a great speed. She closed her eyes expecting the sword to stab her in the heart. After feeling nothing make contact with her body however, she slowly opened her eyes and saw the tip of the sliver haired swordsman's sword was almost touching her chest. She proceeded to move her gaze to said swordsman as he let out, "You know I should kill you. It'd be the easier way to insure you do not interfere with my plans." She watched as he slowly turned his head back so that he was looking at her while he added, "But I realized that doing something like that would be far to easy." A slight grin spread across his face as he ended with, "I am only saying this because there is yet another way I could get rid of you without having to waste my time killing you."

The green eyed healer looked on as Sephiroth turned his head away and snapped two of his fingers together. Aerith did not look behind her as she already knew a portal of some sort had been made since she could clearly hear the odd type of sound it made from behind her. She then felt the tip of the long sword push her back into the vortex. And as she stared at her friends she kept her gaze on both Cloud and Tifa as she let out, "Tifa, please take good care of Cloud."

Soon after she had said this the young woman found herself surrounded by the portals blue and white mix of colors. And before it completely closed she saw the blonde haired swordsman running towards her with his hand extended outward while he shouted, "Aerith!"

ooooooo

Cloud continued to stare at the now empty place where Aerith had stood as he pulled out his sword and glared at the swordsman as demanded, "Why did you push her into that portal?!"

"Would you of rather seen me kill her?" Sephorith calmly shot back with, as he gave him a cold emotionless stare.

The blonde haired young man's anger grew as he swung his large sword at his enemy as he shouted, "Where did that portal send her?! Answer me!"

"I'm sorry to tell you this, but even I do not know where the girl was sent." The sliver haired young man replied, as he jumped back away from Cloud. He then turned away from him while he went on with, "Of course where she ends up is no concern of mine." He proceeded to let out a light chuckle before he jumped into the air and ended with, "Goddbye Cloud, the next time we met I hope you will be ready to perish."

Hearing such a comment caused the young man to ball up his free hand into a fist as he coldly let out, "Sephiroth, I'm going to make you pay for what you've done. Mark my words."

ooooooo

Aerith mentally sighed with relief when she saw the portal she was in had come to an end. Her landing however, was not very pleasant as she landed on cold hard pavement with her hands and knees. The brunette lifted her head to take a look around at her surroundings. When she did this though the only thing that came into her mind was that she was in an alleyway….somewhere. She slowly tried to stand up onto her feet, but once she was up she leaned up against a nearby wall as she let out, "This is not good at all. I cannot sense the nature around me and I also have no idea where I am." Soon after she found herself becoming very warm and while she placed her hand onto her forehead she added, "And I wonder how I got this fever? If I do not find a place to rest then I fear my condition will get worse." The young woman began to slowly walk out of the alley she was in. But as she did this she heard a sound of footsteps approaching in her direction which filled her with hope for help while she asked, "Hello? Is anyone there?" Her eyes widen when she saw a figure run past her causing her to extend her hand outward a little as she ended with, "Sir, please wait."

The green eyed young woman felt her fever become a bit more worse as she saw the figure stop his running making her see nothing but the person's eyes which were hazel as it asked confirming the person to be a man, "Huh? Hey I've never seen you around here before. So, what's your name?"

Aerith found herself becoming even more light headed from the fever as she felt herself let go of the wall and slightly fall forward as she whispered, "My name is, Aerith…."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Sly Cooper quickly reacted and made sure the young woman fell against him and not face first into the cement. Once he had done this he found himself smiling as he let out, "So you're name's Aerith?" He noticed something was wrong with the human prompting him to gently press a gloved hand against her forehead. Once he had done this he quickly pulled it away while he added, "Woah, looks like you've got quite the fever. I better you back to my hideout until you're better."

After the anthro raccoon had said this he repositioned himself while he lifted the brunette and her staff in his arms holding her bridal style. Once he had made sure the young woman's staff was still in her possession and her head was resting up against his shoulder he turned to go on his way. Before he did though he heard a familiar voice as it spat, "I never thought you would stoop so low Sly Cooper. Have you gotten so tired of the life of thievery that you have decided to kidnap someone? This just gives me more reason to make sure I am the one to see you behind bars."

The thief smiled smugly knowing who the person was while he answered back with, "As much as I enjoy our little games of tag, Carmelita. I'm afraid we'll have to postpone you trying to catch me tonight." He turned fully to face the person who was an anthro vixen with long blue hair and who wore her own type of police uniform. His gaze moved from the vixen to the young human woman as he went on with, "And if you can't tell I have a young woman here who has a fever that I have to get rid of."

The hazel eyed raccoon's ears twitched when he heard the yellow eyed fox load her pistol and aim it at him while she said, "I don't think so Cooper. Stay right where you are and hand the human over to me and I'll take her to the hospital."

Sly just turned his attention away from the orange furred vixen as he responded with, "Sorry Carmelita, but I don't like the idea of you or any of the other officers questioning her once she's better."

"You're right we will question her after she has gotten over her sickness. However, you must know we will only being doing this so we can have general information about her." The vixen protested, as she took one step forward. Once she had done this she also continued with, "And besides how I do know you won't just do the same thing?"

Hearing such a thing caused the thief to lightly chuckle as he replied, "You know you're right I might ask her a few things. But I know I won't be asking her a lot of personal things unlike what you and the others would." A grin spread across his muzzle as he turned his attention back to the young woman in his arms for a moment while also keeping one eye on the inspector. He gently moved the hand that was closest to her head and moved a strand of her hair from her face to behind her ear before he went on with, "But I have to admit for a human she's pretty cute."

The anthro thief watched as the blue haired vixen's expression become that of jealousy while she questioned, "What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to go beyond just kidnapping her?" She pointed her pistol at him with slight anger in her eyes as she added, "Now I'll make sure to get that human away from you before you do something you'll regret."

"Well, the only way you'll be to stop me is if you're able to catch me first." Sly commented in response, before he started to run away from the blue haired inspector.

He knew this had set the vixen off as he heard her voice while she shouted, "Get back here, Cooper!"

The raccoon just ignored the orange furred fox as he continued to run down the sidewalk until he turned into another alleyway. He was hoping he could lose his pursuer by jumping up onto a fire escape stairway. When he came to the end of the alleyway though he saw the ladder for the outside staircase had been put up which made his early idea more difficult to go through with. His ears twitched when he heard some footsteps heading towards him. He knew it was Carmelita as she ordered, "Alright Cooper, enough with these games! Now hand the human over to me. And I don't want you to do anything funny while you're do this."

Sly could not help but put on a smug smile as he turned to face the vixen. And once he was facing her he responded with, "Games? What in the world are you talking about Carmelita?" He slowly began to lower himself towards the ground while he went on with, "And even though this has been fun. I'm afraid I'll have to leave you for right now."

The anthro raccoon proceeded to jump into the air with the young woman still in his arms. And when he saw the bottom of the ladder he quickly pulled out the Cooper Cane and grabbed onto the end of it with the C shaped part of the weapon. He swung back and forth a few times before releasing the cane from the ladder while he flew under and over the bottom of the first set of steps. Once he was on the flight of stairs the thief put away the cane and looked down at the young woman to make sure she was alright before he looked over the railing at the inspector and said, "See you around, Carmelita." As he walked up the stairway while ignoring the vixen's shouts of rage and saying how she would catch him one day Sly gently placed his hand on the human's forehead before he quickly pulled it away as he added, "Gee, I guess I shouldn't have been talking with Carmelita for so long. Your fever seems like it's gotten worse. I better hurry then, huh?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Aerith slowly opened her eyes to find she was lying in a bed and not on the cold cement. The young woman was quite relieved that whoever she had met before blacking out had been kind enough to bring her where he lived. But while she laid in the bed looking up at the celling she asked herself, "I wonder how Cloud and the others are doing? I hope they were able to defeat Sephiroth." After she was finished wondering about her friends she took notice of a cold cloth on her forehead. And while she removed it from her head she slowly sat up in the bed as she added, "Hmm, whoever brought me here certainly made sure I would be rid of that fever."

However, the brunette was so lost in her own thoughts she had not noticed the door was being slowly opened from the other side. A voice finally broke her focus away from the wet cloth as he said, "Hey, you're finally awake. You had a pretty bad fever you know, you were asleep for a whole day."

Hearing these comments caused the healer to look up at the now opened doorway only to see no one there. The only thing she saw for a moment though was a gray and black stripped furry tail with a black tip at the end of it as it swayed quickly in front of the doorway before retreating out of sight. Seeing this caused the young woman to mentally gasp in surprise, yet she kept herself calm as she asked, "Excuse me, but are you the one who brought me here?" When she heard no response at first the young woman became a bit worried that perhaps the person thought she might harm him. And with that in mind she went on with, "Please let me see what you look like. I promise I won't hurt you."

Again nothing was heard from the open doorway. Feeling as though she could not convince the person by words Aerith slowly turned to the left side of the bed and started to stand up onto her feet. Once she was off of the bed though she turned and began to walk towards the open doorway hoping to meet the person face to face. When she was about to enter the next room however, the human found herself bumping into someone's blue clothed chest.

"And just where do you think you're heading off to?" The person asked, causing the young woman to take a step back while she lifted her head upward. As she traveled her gaze up the stranger's body she soon realized that she had not been seeing things when it came to the furry tail that she had seen a few moments ago. In fact she saw that the whole person's body was covered in gray fur, and once she reached his face she saw that the man's face was that of a raccoon's. Or at least that is what she assumed it to be as she personally had never seen such a creature in person only in books. After a few seconds had passed a grin spread across the anthropomorphic creature's muzzle as he went on with, "Surprised by my appearance are we?"

"Well, I must admit I was not expecting to be saved by a creature who not only talks like a human, but acts like one as well." Aerith replied, with a smile. When she saw the blue and gray clothed anthro frown though she thought that perhaps she had offended him as she continued with, "But this is a good thing because now it will be easier for me to get to know you better."

"I'm glad to hear you say that. Now I don't have to sneak around my place anymore." The anthro raccoon responded, as he walked into the room making her walk a few steps backwards.

Aerith tilted her head in slight confusion as she asked, "If this is where you live then why would you be sneaking around just because I was here?"

She watched as the gray and black furred raccoon rubbed the back of his neck while he answered back with, "I'm not sure why I did that myself. I guess I just didn't want you to freak out seeing a walking, talking raccoon looking down at you when you woke up."

"I doubt I would have "freaked out" as you put it…." The healer replied back with, before she stopped herself. She then placed a hand underneath her chin while she added, "But that's right I haven't fully introduced myself to you have I?" She removed her hand and smiled warmly as she ended with, "My name is Aerith Gainsborough, and it is nice meet to you."

The brunette kept her focus on the anthro raccoon as he tipped his hat at her and said, "The name's Cooper, Sly Cooper." She soon became a bit surprised when her hand was gently grabbed and lifted up towards Sly's muzzle. Soon after she felt his lips lightly press against her skin in the from of a kiss on her hand. And while he moved his face away along with letting go of her hand he added, "And it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Aerith."

The young woman found herself staring into the anthro's eyes, and as she stared at them she noticed that they seemed to hold a certain sparkle to them while she thought, "_Hmm, I wonder why his eyes have a certain look to them. Could he be hiding something from me?"_ Once she had gotten a better look at his attire and noticed a bandana was wrapped around his eyes she went on with, "_Well, that's certainly new I've never heard of a raccoon wearing an actual mask over the black fur around their eyes. So I guess that would mean his a thief then…but, he certainly hasn't acted like the thieves that I've come across back home."_ The healer's eyes widen with worry remembering her staff which had traveled with her as she ended with, "Excuse me Sly, you wouldn't happen to know where my staff is would you?"

"Oh, so that was what you were carrying with you before you fell." The anthro thief let out, before he lifted one his hands and pointed behind her. She looked at his pointer finger and turned her head until she was facing a nearby corner as he added, "I put it over there."

Aerith continued to stare at the staff known by the name Princess Guard as memories from her home world came into her head. Soon after she felt light headed again as she whispered, "Thank you, Sly."

The brunette felt herself begin to fall towards the bed. Before she landed though she felt a hand grip her arm making sure she did not end up hurting herself from losing her balance. This caused her to slowly turn her head only to Sly stare at her with a disappointed look on his face as he said, "Okay I guess you weren't completely over your fever like we thought, huh?" She nodded her head in agreement while she got back onto the bed and laid down. The wet cloth from earlier was place back onto her head and as the raccoon walked out of the room he went on with, "But from the looks of it, it seems all you'll need to do is rest for the rest of the night. After that you should be fine."

**A/N: I just wanted to let everyone know that I won't be able to update this story until after next week. I remembered that I'm going to be very busy starting this coming weekend which is what will be keeping me away from the internet. Once next week is over I will updae this story again.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Carmelita walked through her apartment room still upset over missing yet another chance to put Sly Cooper behind bars. She paced a few times in the center of her room as she complained with "I can't believe I failed yet again in capturing Sly. And to think he was carrying someone in his arms making him less agilely than what he normally is." Thinking of the young human woman who was in his arms caused the vixen's anger to raise even more while she added, "And who knows what he might be doing to that human. I wonder if she had gotten over that fever Sly said she had." She scoffed after that before she continued with, "Knowing that raccoon he was probably just saying that so I wouldn't put the human in a holding cell while we questioned her."

The blue haired vixen tried to calm herself by letting out a heavy sigh before she walked towards a nearby window and looked out at the surrounding buildings as she let out, "But I guess I'm only mad at Sly because of what happened a few months ago."

ooooooo

_Carmelita walked down the hallway in the police station with a slight smile on her face. She was happy that she and Sly had been doing so well as a team catching criminals and putting them behind bars. And yet in the back of her mind she knew the only reason this happened was because of Sly losing his memory from Dr. N's laser that he had tried to fire at her before the raccoon got in front of her taking the blast for her instead. The blue haired vixen sighed as she asked herself, "I wonder if Sly will ever get his memories back? But when and if he does get them back I wonder if he would still want to stay here with me instead of returning to a life of crime." While she was wondering about all of the possible things that could happen the inspector noticed that the lock to the evidence room was picked with a lock pick leaving the door slightly open causing the vixen to become confused as she added in a whisper, "Hmm, why is the evidence room door open? I wonder who could be in there." Once she was in front of the door she peered inside and saw someone was going through different files. When she turned on the lights though she let out a gasp of slight surprise while she ended in a shout, "Cooper!"_

_The yellow eyed vixen watched as the raccoon froze in place before he stuttered, "Oh, h-hey Carmelita. How it's going?"_

"_How it's going? I was doing just fine until I came in here!" Carmelita harshly shot back with, while glaring daggers at the anthro thief. She started to slowly walk towards Sly and as she did this she added, "Now twll me why were you going through those classified files!"_

_The hazel eyed raccoon let out a sigh of sadness before he looked down at the ground and let out, "I guess I can't hide the truth from you anymore." He lifted his head up and looked at the vixen's direction and went on with, "Carmelita, I was never really affected by Dr. N's ray. I only pretended to have amnesia so I could get closer to you."_

_Carmelita found herself balling her hands into fists while she asked, "I see. So you only wanted to get closer to me so you could steal documents from right under mine and the other officers noses?"_

"_What? No, that wasn't the reason why I faked the amnesia." Sly protested with, as he took one step forward. The yellow eyed vixen watched while he extended one of his hands in an attempt to cup her chin. And once he had done this he continued in a quiet tone, "I did it so you and I could get closer to each other without our different career choices getting in the way."_

_The orange furred fox felt conflicted as she wanted to believe him, but she still had her doubts. And so she decided to go with the only choice that she could think of. She removed Sly's hand from underneath her chin before she responded with, "You no good lying raccoon!" She then brought her right hand up and smacked him hard across the face._

_There was silence in the room for a few moments as the anthro raccoon placed a hand onto the right side of his face while he let out, "Carmelita, I-"_

"_Just save it Cooper!" Carmelita shot back with, as she turned away from him. She then began to walk back towards the open doorway to leave the room. Before she did though she turned her head so that she was staring at him again and once she did this she added with anger in her voice, "I never thought you would do something like this Sly. And from this moment on you and I are back to how things were. The only major differance will be the key being throw away by me personally once you're put in prison in for good."_

ooooooo

Carmelita finally moved away from the window she had been staring out of after letting herself remember the day Sly broke not only her trust, but her heart as well. She turned around and while she was walking towards her bed she saw that a framed picture was sitting on the nearby nightstand. Once she was in fornt of the picture she saw that the photo was of her and Sly after they had caught a bank robber and his gang. She turned the frame over and removed the picture from the casing. While the inspector stared at the photo she let out a scoff before she told herself, "I should not be trying to hang on to something that was nothing more than a lie." After that she proceeded to rip the picture into small pieces before the vixen dropped the remains into the garbage can and walked into the next room.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sly stared out a nearby window as he asked himself out loud, " I wonder if Carmelita ever thought of giving up her pistol and badge and become a member of The Cooper Gang." He dismissed the idea with a dry laugh while he added, "Of course knowing her she would probably rather have me killed then join my little group."

"Sly, are you out there?" A voice asked, from within the next room.

Hearing the voice caused one of the raccoon's ears to twitch yet he knew who the person was while he answered back with, "I'm in here, Aerith." He turned his attention away from the window and over to the open door that led to the room that he was letting the young woman stay in. Once he saw her walk out of the room he smiled and added, "So are you feeling better compared to yesterday?"

"Yes, much better thank you." The brunette replied, as she walk up to him. "Although I still wish there was a way I could repay you for letting me stay here." The healer went on with, while she moved her gaze away from the thief.

Sly could not help but lose his smile as he tried to reassure her with, "Hey, I was more then happy to help you when you needed it. And besides I wasn't really expecting to have you pay me back in any way for what I did." When he saw the unconvinced look on Aerith's face though the raccoon decided to try and change the subject while he continued, "Anyway though I was wondering since I never saw you around Paris before it must mean that you're new here right?"

"Um, well I suppose you could say that." Aerith let out, before she looked back at him.

"Well, if that's the case then how about I take you out and show you all of the sights around here." The hazel eyed raccoon suggested, as he walked up to her with a grin on his face again.

He watched the young woman become a bit uncertain of the idea when she replied, "Well, as nice as that would be. I don't think I should do that." She pushed some hair behind one of her ears while she added, "I really need to find a way to get back home. I'm certain all of my friends are worried about me."

The gray and black furred raccoon let out a heavy sigh while he took his bray off of his head as he replied, "Oh, I guess I just assumed you'd come here by yourself. I never really took that in account." He then removed the mask that was around his eyes before he continued with, "But maybe if I can find out where your friends are then I could get a plane ticket. Or if that doesn't work for you then there's either a train or by boat."

"I, wait a minute Sly." Aerith injected with, causing the thief to break away from his thoughts. He stared at the young woman as she went on with, "As much as I appreciate you doing something for me again. I have to tell you that my friends don't live anywhere near where we are."

Hearing this though caused the anthro raccoon to become a tad confused as he asked, "Um, okay if your friends don't live around here then where exactly do they live?"

"I'm afraid if I told you where I came from you may not believe me." The healer replied, as she quickly looked away.

"Hey come on Aerith, I highly doubt where you're from is that far away." Sly reassured her, before he placed a hand onto her left shoulder. Although when he saw the unconvinced look on the young woman's face he went on with, "But if you want to wait to tell me about where you come from then that's fine."

"Thank you for understanding Sly. But I promise I will tell you everything once I have gotten to know you a bit more better." The green eyed young woman reassured him, while she smiled in graduate.

The anthro thief nodded in understanding before he heard his ear piece give off a static sound fallowed by a voice that asked, "Hey Sly, it's Bentley. Are you there?"

"Yeah Bentley I'm here. Just give me a sec and I'll let you in." Sly replied, as he began to walk away from the brunette. While he was making his way towards the door that led outside he turned his head to look back at the young woman as an idea came into his head and he added, "By the way Bentley, I'm glad you showed up because there's someone I want you to meet ."

ooooooo

Aerith stared at the gray and black furred raccoon with a confused look on her face as she asked herself, "That look Sly just gave me. Why I do I have the feeling his planning something."

The healer was not able to dwell on the matter for very long though as the anthro thief broke her out of her thoughts when he said, "Hey Aerith, could you come over here. I want you to meet someone."

The young woman was going to protest a bit after hearing that idea. However, she was never given a chance since the hazel eyed raccoon opened the door before he walked out and closed it behind him. Seeing this caused her to lightly sigh as she now realized how persistent the thief was. However, she knew he would have to be this way if he did such a thing as stealing from places for a living. Her attention was brought out of her thoughts though when she heard the door being opened. The green eyed young woman saw Sly walk into the first, and while he held the door open she then watched as a anthro turtle in a wheelchair came into the room.

And while she took note of his large glasses and clothes he was wearing she heard Sly's voice as he introduced his friend with, "Aerith, this is Bentley. His the brains of the group."

"It's very nice to meet you, Bentley." Aerith replied with a smile, as she approached the two who were now in the middle of the room.

The brunette watched as the turtle wheeled himself towards her and extended his hand outward while he responded, "It's nice to meet you too, Miss Aerith."

The young woman shook the glasses wearing turtle hand in return with a smile. Once this had been done though she could not help but turn her attention back towards the open doorway that led to her room as she thought, "_I think I know of a way to thank Sly for helping me." _When she saw the confused looks on both the raccoon and turtle's faces she added, "Sly, is it alright if I go get my staff?"

"Um sure I guess so. But why do you want to do that?" Sly asked, as he tilted his head to the side.

Aerith just smiled before she turned and began to walk towards her room. While she did this though she answered back with, "Don't worry Sly, you'll see why in just a moment."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Sly continued to stare at the young human woman with a confused look on his face as he let out, "What in the world did she mean by that?"

"Hmm, I think I might know what she meant by that." Bentley replied, breaking the raccoon from his thoughts. Once he was looking at his crippled friend he went on with, "You wouldn't happen to know what this staff she has looks like do you?"

The anthro thief crossed his arms slightly while placing a hand underneath his chin while he began to try and remember what the brunette's staff looked like. "Well let's see, the rod for it was metal with black and white paint on it which was nothing too special." The raccoon stated, before he thought of what the top part of the staff looked like. He then added, "But the top part of it was a bit more interestiing because it was made out of pure gold. And the shape of it kind of looked like a butterfly almost."

Once he was done with his short description he looked down at the anthro turtle who nodded in understanding as he replied, "If that's the case then perhaps her staff has some type of magic inside of it."

The thief was going to reply to his friends assumption on the matter. However, before he could he saw the green eyed young woman walk back towards them with her staff in hand as she said, "Okay, now I'm ready to show you how I intend to thank you for helping me." He watched her gaze go over to Bentley while she continued with, "I know this is going to sound strange to you. But is it alright if I use what magic I know to heal your legs?"

Sly's eyes widen in shock once he had heard what the brunette was planning on as he asked, "What? Can you really do that?"

The green eyed healer nodded her head before she replied with, "Yes, I can if that's alright with both of you."

"Uh, sure I have no problems with the idea. How about you Bentley, you wouldn't mind if Aerith did this would you?" The anthro thief asked, as he looked at his friend again.

The raccoon knew that both he and the young woman had put the anthro turtle in quite the predicament as he stuttered, "Well, I um…..sure. It would be nice to be able to walk again."

"Very well, then I shall make sure this works." The brunette let out, before she knelt down in front of the turtle.

The gray and black furred thief watched intently as the young woman held her staff in between her hands which were now put together to look as though she was praying. Soon after this had been he saw a faint green light go over her hands and onto the staff. From there he saw a light green outline go over his crippled friend. The green outline however, only lasted for a few seconds before it disappeared and Aerith slowly began to open her eyes while she removed one of her hands from her staff and stood up onto her feet. Once she did this she looked down at Bentley while she instructed, "There your legs should work just like how they used to. But just to make sure they are healed completely I just want you to slowly move them back and forth in the chair before you try to walk."

The glasses wearing turtle tried to not be too nervous as he let out, "Uh, right." He then did what was asked of him while he slowly brought his left leg a ways upward before moving it back down. He proceeded to do the same for his right leg in the same manner before he went on with, "Okay, I think I'll try to walk now."

The raccoon held his breathe as the anthro turtle began to slowly lift himself up out of the wheelchair. He became nervous when he saw his friend's legs were shaking a little most likely from not using them for quite some time. When he went to try to support him he saw that Aerith had already done so, and as he looked at her he saw that her smile looked like that of encouragement. When he saw the young woman look over in his direction the thief knew what she wanted him to do as he nodded before he walked up to the other side of Bentley and placed his hand onto his shoulder for support. The three slowly began to walk together in an attempt to get the turtle comfortable enough to where he would try it on his own again.

After the three had walked back and froth in a straight line for some time Sly heard his friend let out a sigh while he said, "Okay, you guys can let go of me now."

"Are you sure, Bentley?" The hazel eyed thief asked, as he looked at the turtle with concern.

The turtle nodded before he and the green eyed healer slowly removed their hands from his shoulders. Again the anthro thief held his breathe as he watched his friend once again attempt to walk on his own. To his amazement and relief the once crippled turtle was walking a bit more easily even if it was in the form of a straight line. When the raccoon saw that Bentley had increased his walking pace a little he heard his friend stop and look down at the floor in shock for a moment or so. After some time had passed though the smartest member of The Cooper Gang smiled with happiness while he let out, "I-I can walk again." He then began to walk around to different parts of the room and as he did this he added with a bit more excitement, "I can walk again!" Once some more time had passed the turtle calmed himself a bit as he turned around and rubbed the back of his neck while he ended with, "Oh, that's right I have a lot of inventions to get done. Can't just spend my time walking around all day."

While Sly's friend was heading towards the wooden table where he always had everything laid out the raccoon looked over at the brunette with a soft genuine smile on his face as he whispered, "Thank you."

**A/N: I just wanted to let everyone know that I was going to have Sly tell Aerith about the accident that happened at (if I remember right) the end of Sly 2. But I kind of changed my mind because well, it's been a while since I played the Sly Cooper games. (I plan on doing that sometime though to make sure I have each character in well….character) The next chapter will be added on Sunday or Monday.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Aerith walked down the sideway along with Sly the next day wondering where the two could possibly be going as she asked, "Sly, where are you taking me?"

"Don't worry Aerith, you'll find out soon." The raccoon replied, while he looked at her with a grin on his face.

The young woman could not help but let out a light sigh as she knew he wouldn't be revealing anything to her anytime soon. All she knew was that the raccoon wanted to repay her in some way for healing his friend Bentley's crippled legs. While the two kept on walking she looked up at him again while she protested with, "You know you really don't have to thank me in any way for what I did yesterday, Sly. I was more than happy to use my healing magic on Bentley."

"Yeah I know you were." The anthro raccoon replied, as he looked down at her from the corner of his eyes. While the two were turning around a nearby corner he added, "But even if you don't want anything I still plan on getting you something." The young woman finally took notice of a nearby building that the two were walking up to that had different types of clothes showing from the inside of the store. Before the two entered the shop he ended with, "And here we are."

The green eyed healer tilted her head a bit to the side as she stared at the different types of clothes that were being displayed in the window. Aerith turned her attention back to the anthro thief while she asked him, "Sly, why did you bring me to a clothing store?"

A grin reappeared on the hazel eyed raccoon's face as he answered back with, "Well, since you'll be staying with me until we can figure out a way to get you back to wherever your home is. I figured you would want to get some more clothes, so you're not wearing the same thing all the time." To the young woman's surprise she saw the raccoon wink at her before he went on with, "And besides maybe we'll find something cute for you to wear while we're here."

Hearing Sly's last comment caused Aerith to look away with a blush on her face. And as she looked away she responded with, "I-I well….let's go inside so I can get some new clothes." She looked up at the thief while she added, "But it's just going to be something simple like what I'm wearing now. Maybe a few other types of dresses, but that's it and nothing else."

"Awe and I was going to pick out something really cute for you to wear too." The gray and black furred anthro pouted, before he opened the door to the shop for her.

ooooooo

Carmelita looked through the rack of clothes that were in front of her. She sighed with disappointment not really being impressed with what she saw. Her right ear twitched though when she heard one of the front doors to the clothing store being open which caused her to turn her attention slightly to see who had entered the shop. Once she had done this though her expression harden when she saw none other than Sly Cooper walking into the store. At first the blue haired vixen was a bit confused seeing him out in the open. But after she saw the human from a few nights ago everything made sense to her as she let out, "Tch, I should have known."

"Hello madam and mesuor. How can I help you today?" The clerk asked, with a smile on her face. The vixen looked on in interest because once the anthro clerk opened her eyes and saw the human next to the raccoon she let out a gasp while she added in surprise, "Oh, I'm sorry madam. I did not realize you were a human." The yellow eyed fox found herself smirking slightly when she heard, "I-I don't know if we have too many clothes that will work for you..."

The smirk quickly faded once she saw the hazel eyed raccoon just wave his hand dismissing the ordeal as he reassured her with, "Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure we'll find something for my friend here even if they aren't meant for her kind."

The orange furred fox became a bit worried when she saw the two heading towards the same rack of clothes that she had just gone through as she let out, "Great, he's bringing her over here." An idea popped into her head while she added, "But perhaps if I keep my back to them they'll never know that I'm here."

The blue haired insceptor quickly turned herself in front of the clothes again before she slowly walked towards a different rack that was nearby. And while she pretended to look through the other rack of clothes she listened in on the two's conversation as she heard Sly's voice when he suggested, "So how about this one, Aerith?"

"_Hmm Aerith, so that's what her name is huh?"_ Carmelita mentally commented, while she slowly turned her head so she was looking at the two.

The yellow eyed fox looked over at the brunette haired human and saw her place a hand underneath her chin in thought before she responded with, "Well, it does look nice. But I'm wondering if it's too formal for me."

Hearing this caused the vixen to look over at the outfit in question only to have her expression become that of anger. The dress that the anthro thief had chosen was a long elegant dress that one would wear if they were going to a fancy dinner party. It appeared to have fabric that led up close to the shoulders, but stopped right below them leaving that part of the body visible. The vixen also took note of the light and dark shades of purple on it as she heard the raccoon's voice when he urged, "Yeah, but come on just try it on to see if you like it."

There was a short pause of silence before the human replied back with, "Well, it does look very nice. Alright I suppose it wouldn't hurt to at least see what I would like with this type of dress on."

Carmelita quickly looked away and acted as though she had no idea the brunette was walking pass her towards a changing room. Once the human was gone the vixen noticed that Sly had walked over to the casher obviously wanting to do something while he waited for the girl to change. But while she slowly moved towards the two her right ear twitched yet again when she heard, "Hey, thanks for doing that for me on such short notice."

The blue haired fox turned her head towards the two and saw the raccoon hand the clerk a few small stacks of money. As the other anthro put the money away in the register she replied, "It was problem at all. I am just glad you had informed me about the young lady last night." Once she had put all of the money away and closed the register she added, "I just hope she'll end up liking that dress you had me add more fabric to along with the other clothes you plan on getting for her."

Carmelita scoffed after hearing the little chat that had went on. She was about to leave the clothing store, but stopped herself from doing so when she heard the door to the changing room begin to open. Once that had done she heard the human's voice again as she asked, "So Sly, what do you think?"

The yellow eyed inspector heard nothing from the raccoon at first. The only thing that could be heard was the sound of his footsteps as he walked up to the green eyed human. And when Carmelita looked over at the two she felt as though her heart was being ripped in two just seeing how the anthro thief was staring at the young woman. The vixen quickly decided to leave before she found herself losing her cool. While she was heading towards the door though she heard the gray and black furred raccoon's voice as he commented, "You look amazing in that dance, Aerith." Once this had been said the blue haired fox walked out of the clothing store and shut the door behind her before a few tears fell down her face.

**A/N: And yet another chapter has come to an end. Now I hope someoen will let me know if I spelled the word in French that means sir correctly. Other than that I think it turned out okay. The next update won't happen though until after Labor Day.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Aerith walked down the lighted sidewalk with Sly again later on that night. And instead of wearing her original clothes or the elegant dress the raccoon had gotten her, she was now wearing a light blue dress with a matching bow in her hair. While the two walked side by side with one another just like earlier in the day the brunette found herself wondering where they were headed to as she asked, "So where are we heading off to now Sly?"

And just like the first time the thief looked down at her with his usual grin before he answered back with, "Well, I don't really want to give away where we're going. But I will say that it isn't another clothing store."

"Oh, well that's nice I suppose." The healer responded, while she decided just to go with whatever the thief had planned for them.

But as the two continued to walk the brunette saw an odd looking tower of sorts come into view. And while it became more visible she heard the anthro's voice as he announced, "You see the large tower like building up ahead? It's called The Eiffel Tower, and this is where I'm taking you."

"Hmm, I bet you can see a lot of different places from up there." The green eyed healer let out, as the two walked up the stairway that led to the elevator.

But while the two walked nto the elevator the young woman turned slightly only to come very close to Sly's muzzle. She found herself holding her breathe slightly as the raccoon leaned towards her until he was right next to her ear before he whispered, "Yeah it has a great view. But it's also the most romantic place here in Paris."

Aerith felt a herself becoming warm with a light pink blush as she quickly turned away and thought, "_The most romantic place here? Why in the world would he want to bring me here? He can't be interested in me, can he?"_

The young woman broke away from her thoughts however, when she heard a chuckle come from the anthro thief's direction. And once she looked at him again he told her, "Hey, don't worry just because it's said to be romantic that isn't the reason why I'm brought you here." The brunette felt a hand place itself on her shoulder in reassurance as he continued with, "I just thought that maybe if I took you to place where no one will bug us you would be willing to tell me more about yourself."

Hearing this caused the young woman to look up and stare at the black and white furred raccoon's eyes as she let out, "That's very nice of you Sly, but-"

The brunette would have finished her sentence however, she stopped herself when she saw and then felt one of the anthro's fingers gently place itself against her lips while he interjected with, "Nope, no buts. And besides we're already at the top of the tower so there's no turning back now."

The green eyed healer just mentally sighed as took a step back from the thief before she suggested, "Very well then. However, if I'm going to tell you more about myself then you have to do the same for me. Is that a reasonable deal?"

A chuckle escaped the hazel eyed raccoon's lips as he replied, "Sure I suppose that's fair enough of a deal." He then took a hold of one of her hands and led her out of the elevator and towards the edge of the right side of the tower. Once the two were there he added in a quiet voice, "So what I'd tell you. Isn't the view great from up here?"

Aerith looked out at surroundings while she nodded her head and replied, "Yes it is a very nice view." But after only looking at the now small buildings for only a little bit she turned her attention back to the thief before she continued with, "So, what part of my life would like to know about first?"

"Actually if you don't mind I'd like you to tell me as much about yourself as possible." Sly answered, as he turned around and leaned up against the railing that was in front of them. Once that had been done he went on with, "So let's start off with an easy question. What are your parents like?"

Hearing this question caused the green eyed young woman to frown slightly as she responded back with, "I'm afraid neither one of my parents are alive. My father was killed and I lost my mother at the age of five because of a very fetal injury."

"So you were raised in an orphanage too, huh?" Sly replied, while he moved a bit closer to her.

"Yes, I was." The brunette let out, before she looked back at the anthro raccoon. She then added, "But you were also raised in an orphanage?"

The hazel eyed thief nodded his head before he explained, "Yep, I lost both of my folks too at a young age." Aerith watched intently as the raccoon turned back around so that he was facing the railing again while he continued with, "The funny thing is though you and I both lost our parents kind of the same way. Well, okay maybe not exactly the same."

"And what do you mean by that exactly?" The young woman asked, as she titled her head to the side slightly.

"What I mean is that I don't exactly know when my mother had passed away. But….I sure do remember how my old man died though." The gray and black furred anthro raccoon said, before his expression changed to that of sadness. Seeing this surprised the healer not really expecting to see this side of the thief. She saw him look at her from the corner of his eyes while he continued with, "I only know how it happened though because I watched from the hiding spot my ather had told me to go in before our home was broken into. And all of that happened when I was eight years old."

"I see….so you're father died while he was trying to protect your home from intruders." Aerith let out, before she walked up to the raccoon and placed a hand on his left shoulder. She smiled gently at him and added, "I know it's not my place to say anything, but from the look in your eyes I can tell that your father was important to you wasn't he?"

To the healer's surprise the raccoon smirked at her as he told her, "Well of course he was. Who else do you think taught me how to be a professional thief?"

"I…oh, so your families legacy is that of thievery?" the brunette asked, as she saw the raccoon gently remove her hand from his shoulder.

"Yep, the Cooper family has generations of thieves that are recorded in a book I have. Some are even dated back to the medieval times." Sly explained, while a grin reappeared on his muzzle. The young woman wanted to ask him a few more questions about the matter but was unable to when he went on with, "So now that you know why I do what I do for a living let's hear what you did before you ended up here."

The brunette found herself looking out towards the buildings once again while she said, "My job wasn't anything too special. I just sold people flowers around the town I lived in." Her mind began to wonder as she went on with, "However, since the town was always in a very poor state I never really made any big profits or anything." She then closed her eyes and placed both of her hands over her heart and ended with, "But even if I never was given any money in return I was okay with that. Because as long as I knew that my flowers had made those peoples days a bit brighter then that was enough of a reward for me to gain at the end of the day."

Once the young woman had finished talking she heard a light chuckle escape the raccoon's mouth as he let out, "Well, I guess I was right. You truly are something special, Aerith."

"That's very kind of you to say Sly. But I highly doubt that I'm-" Aerith kindly protested with, before she stopped herself upon feeling the thief cup her chin with a hand.

And as he turned her face to look at him she saw a certain sparkle in his hazel eyes as he told her, "You really don't get do you?" I guess it's time someone showed you how special you truly are."

The green eyed young woman was going to ask what the anthro thief meant by that statement. She was unable to do so though because she soon felt the raccoon gently press his lips against hers in a soft and gentle kiss.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Sly smiled from ear to ear as if he was on cloud nine the next day. The reason behind this was because he had kissed Aerith last night while the two had been sharing their pasts with each other. And even though he had enjoyed getting to know the young woman last night something was still bothering him as he asked himself, "I wonder what Aerith would have said if I hadn't of cut her off with that kiss last night?" The raccoon would have pondering the question for a while, but once he saw the brunette looking out a nearby window he added, "But…I guess I can worry about that matter later." He then proceeded to walk towards the human and while he did this he ended with, "Hey Aerith, so what did you think about last night? You probably weren't expecting me to be so good when it came to kissing am I right?"

"Well, to be honest I wasn't really expecting you to do something like that." The young woman replied, as she turned to face him. Once she had done this she added, "But I guess it was only very surprising to me because….I'm not an ordinary human. Or at least I wasn't up until I came here."

The hazel eyed raccoon tilted his head slightly while he asked, "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

The thief's ears flicked once he heard the healer let out a sigh before she explained, "You see I'm not only just a human, I am also the last of another race of humans which were known as The Cetra." Her gaze then went back towards the window as she went on with, "This race of human was able to bring life to nature making anything grow even in places that were said to not be possible."

"Um okay, so do you know how you lost that ability?" The anthro raccoon asked, as he rubbed the back of his neck in confusion.

The young woman let out a light giggle before she replied back with, "No, I have no idea. All I know is that I can no longer hear the planet speak to me." She saw the anthro raccoon tilt his head to the side obviously in confusion which caused her to sigh lightly while she added, "Please there is no reason for you to worry about something like that. Like I told you it's obvious that I'm just a normal human now." The brunette then began to walk up to him only to walk right by him. And as she did this she ended with, "But honestly…..I'm okay with being normal."

"Well, I don't know if you're normal since you can use healing magic." Sly pointed out, while he turned to look at her.

"Anyone can learn magic if they take the time to do so." Aerith replied, before she turned to look at him also. She was about to leave the room but stopped when she felt the raccoon grab her hand. This caused the young woman to turn only to see the thief staring at her as she went on with, "Sly is something wrong? Did I tell you something that confused you?"

"No, you didn't confuse me….that much." The raccoon reassured her, as he brought her closer to his body. The brunette soon after felt that same hand leave hers before cupping her chin while he went on with, "What I want to know is what do you think about being with a guy like me?"

A light blush spread across Aerith's face before she let out, "Oh….um, is there any particular reason as to why you're bringing this up?"

"Oh come on beautiful, I know you're interested in me. Not that I could blame you though." Sly commented, while he brought his face a bit closer to hers.

An unfazed look came across the young woman's face as she responded back with, "It seems someone is very confident in their looks."

The raccoon leaned in even closer until his muzzle was right up against the brunette's left ear before he said, "Yeah, but even though we've only known each other for a while now you obviously know I'm not a bad guy." He then moved his head away from her ear while he added, "And besides you seem to have no problem with what I do for a living…unlike another woman who I tried to have a relationship with."

After the thief had said that though he saw a curious look was on the healer's face as she asked, "I know it's not any of my business. But what exactly happened between you and your ex that would cause you to say something like that?"

A heavy sigh was released from the anthro's mouth before he explained, "She and I had a disagreement on my job. And it probably didn't help that she's the head cop around here." Memories started to flood the raccoon's mind as he went on with, "She would try and catch me so that she could put me behind bars. But I was always able to get away. I would even treat our little chases like a game."

"By the way you're talking about her she must have a special place in your heart." The human pointed out, as she gently moved herself away from the thief.

"Yeah she does." The hazel eyed thief admitted, while he turned his gaze away from the young woman. He then continued with, "But I know it's been over between the two of us for months now. And I'm finally ready to move on."

When he looked back over at the green eyed human he saw an unconvinced expression on her face as she asked, "You do realize that saying you're ready to move on is completely different compared to actually doing so, right?"

A grin spread across the anthro raccoon's face as he answered back with, "Oh believe me I know it's easier to say that rather than taking action to prove it. But if you think about it I already proved that I'm ready to move on when I kissed you last night."

"Well, if you're serious then why don't you and I go out sometime?" Aerith suggested, while the thief saw her smile at him warmly.

"Hey now, I'm supposed to be the one to ask you out on a date." Sly playfully shot back, before he retook her hand again. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it. After he did this he released her hand and continued with, "So how about we have our first date tomorrow night then? I know a pretty nice restraint we could go to."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea Sly." The young woman replied, before she turned away from the raccoon and walked into the next room.

The thief waited a little bit until he knew the brunette was a good distance away before he shook his head sideways while letting a light chuckle and commented, "Yeah, she totally digs me."

**A/N: You know I'll be honest I'm not too happy with how this chapter played out. Of course this is just how I feel about it. I will hopefully have the next chapter up sometime soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Bentley was busy drawing out the blueprints for a future invention when a knock came from the other side of the door. "It's open." The turtle replied, as he slightly turned his head to look over his shoulder and at the door. When the door opened the glasses wearing turtle saw Aerith walk into the room and close the door behind her while he added, "Oh hello Aerith, is there anything I can do for you?"

He saw an unsure expression on the young woman's face as she replied, "Bentley I hope I'm not interrupting your process with anything. But I was wondering if it's not too much trouble perhaps you could fill me in on what exactly happened to you that led you to use a wheelchair."

Upon hearing this the turtle turned away from the blueprint so that he was facing the brunette before he explained, "Well alright, if you really want to know happened then I'll tell you." He waited a few seconds before he went on with, "You see Sly, Murray, and I had just defeated Clock-la after a fierce battle. However, knowing that the parts could repair themselves with a part that was called, The Hate Chip I took it upon myself to go up and climb into the jaws of the metal beast to retrieve the item. Unfortunately bad timing came into play because when I had grabbed the chip the jaws clamped onto my legs and fell apart."

The anthro turtle would have kept going, but he decided to stop when he saw a shocked look was on the green eyed human's face as she responded with, "Oh my, that's terrible. It's a miracle you survived such an event."

"Well, I don't know if I'd call it a miracle because as you saw when we first met I had to use a wheelchair." Bentley replied, as he rubbed the back of his neck. He lowered his head towards the ground slightly while he went on with, "But even though I suffered physically, Murray suffered the worst from that event. He became depressed and blamed himself for what had happened to me."

Once he brought his gaze back up to the healer he saw her head was tilted to the right in slight confusion and asked, "Um, wait who may I ask is Murray? I know Sly had said that his group had a few members, but he never went into great detail about either one of you."

"Well, knowing Sly he probably figured it would be better if you met each of us in person instead of him explaining who we were." Bentley suggested, as he turned back to his blueprint.

"Oh so will I ever meet Murray?" The young woman asked, before the turtle heard her walk up to the table and stood in front it next to him.

Upon hearing her question the used to be crippled anthro smiled at her while he told her, "Actually I got a message from him while you and Sly were out and about telling me he was planning on stopping by to see how Sly and I have been doing." After he had said this he placed a hand underneath his chin while he continued with, "In fact if my calculations are correct he should be here right about…now."

And as if on cue the two heard a voice as it shouted, "The Murray has returned!"

ooooooo

Sly's left ear twitched when he heard the sound of the hippo's voice as he thought, "_Hmm, I wonder how Murray will react to seeing Bentley walking again."_ He let out a light chuckle and added, "This should be fun." The raccoon got up out the chair he was sitting in and walked into the main room of the hidout. And once he had done this he ended with, "Hey Murray, how've you been buddy?"

The pink hippo grinned with pride while he stated, "I've been great Sly. I'm actually training to be a race car driver using the van. It's super cool with fast pace turns and explosions abound. It's awesome!"

"Hey that's great Murray, I just hope you'll be able to find the time to help with a heist in we need you." The hazel eyed thief responded with, as he walked up to a nearby wall and leaned up against it.

"Well, of course I'd help you guys! Besides no one can replace The Murray when it comes to kicking butt and taking names!" Murray proclaimed, while he gave the raccoon a thumbs up.

"Yeah, you're right about that Murray. You're always the guy Bentley and I count on when it comes to mayhem." The thief replied, while he gave his friend a thumps up in return. He then remembered about Aerith and how she had not met the hippo yet which caused the anthro to give off a smug smile while he added, "By the way Murray there's someone here I want you to meet." He then walked up to the nearby door and knocked on it before he ended with, "Hey Aerith, why don't you come out here I've got another friend I want to you meet. Oh and make sure Bentley comes out with you too."

The hazel eyed anthro raccoon could tell that his friend was going to ask who Aerith was. But before he could the door opened revealing the young human woman as she said, "You wanted to see me Sly?" Once the thief saw the brunette look in the direction of Murray she added, "Ah, you must be another of Sly's friends correct?"

"Yep that's right I'm Murray, the brawn of the group. The go to guy, the bringer of destruction, the-" The pink hippo claimed, as his voice increased in volume before he was stopped by the raccoon who cut him off with, "I think she gets the idea Murray."

"Oh sorry about that sometimes I get a little carried away with talking about my own awesomeness." Murray stated, before he saw Bentley actually walk into the room. Seeing this caused him to gasp in utter disbelief as he continued, "Bentley, you can walk?! I-I uh, w-what happened to you?!"

"To be frank Murray nothing really "happened to me", Aerith just used her staff to heal my legs." The turtle replied, at the still shock faced hippo.

For a few minutes the entire group stood in silence and stared at Murray waiting to find out how he would react to Bentley's legs being healed. Sly became a bit nervous when he saw the large hippo walk up to the brunette as he said, "You know I've got one thing to say to you ma'am." He then wrapped his arms around Aerith and lifted her into the air in a hug while he added, "Oh thank you, thank you so much! Now the final pieces of guilt can finally disappear and never bother me again!"

"I-It was no trouble. B-But I'm glad you're now guilt free." The young woman responded, while she tried to not let the tight hug from the hippo bother her.

Taking notice of how uncomfortable the young woman was starting to become Sly interjected with, "Okay Murray, I think you might want to put Aerith down before she has any more trouble breathing."

"Oh! Sorry Aerith, I guess I got a little carried away there." The hippo said, as he let go of the young woman and set her down on the ground.

"No, it's alright Murray. But like I've told both Sly and Bentley before it was no trouble at all." Aerith replied, as she smiled kindly.

The raccoon looked from the corner of his eyes and saw Bentley was deep in thought as he asked, "Hey Bentley, is something bothering you?"

He watched the turtle shake his head from side to side while he answered back with, "No nothing's really bothering me Sly. I was just wondering if Aerith's staff could use any other type of magic besides healing."

"Actually my staff can use three element based spells which are fire, ice, and lighting." The brunette explained, as she started to turn to go retrieve her staff.

Sly grinned smugly while he told her, "Well while you go get your staff the three of us will get The Hazard Room ready for you."

"The What Room?" The green eyed young woman asked, as she stopped walking and turned to look at the three anthros.

"The Hazard Room is the name we gave are training rom." The turtle explained, before he repositioned his glasses.

"Um, so where will I need to go to get to this Hazard Room?" Aerith questioned, as she tilted her slightly to the side.

The gray and black furred raccoon just let out a light chuckle while he reassured her with, "Hey don't worry Aerith, I'll be waiting here while you go get your staff. Once that's done then I'd be more then happy to take you to The Hazard Room."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Aerith walked down the hallway after she had gotten her staff from her room. While the young woman continued to walk though she thought, "_I wonder what those three will have in store me? Other then using my magic the only other thing I can do is hit someone with my staff. However, I'm not sure how much help I would actually be if they took me with them to steal something."_ But as she was passing by a room something had caught her eye. And when she looked inside the room she saw quite a few pieces of furniture inside it. There were a few lamps one that was tall and the other one small, along with a few small tables. But what caught her attention the most was a single book that was up on a stand in the middle of the room. Curiosity got the better of the green eyed young woman as she walked into the room and added, "What is this book doing here?"

Upon getting a closer though the brunette read the title of book which was The Thievius Racoonus seeing this caused her to let out. "I wonder could this be the book Sly had mentioned to me a few days ago?" She looked from left to right for a moment before she went on with, "Well, if this truly is his families' book then I doubt he would be that angry with me if I just took a quick look through it."

She gently pulled the book cover to its side opening the book revealing pages upon pages of small pictures of a different Cooper family member. Along with the pictures the young woman saw that each Cooper had a detailed explanation about how they pulled off their heists and tips of pulling off certain disguises for fooling people. What caught the brunette's attention the most though was that each Cooper had his or her own look. The only thing that remained the same was the cane although for some Coopers Aerith found out did not use it as their main weapon, but still kept it with them. "Wow, I never knew Sly had such a large family."

"Yeah I've got a pretty impressive legacy to live up to don't I?" Someone asked, causing the healer to gasp and quickly turn around in a panic. When the young woman looked around she saw none other than Sly staring back at her with a grin on his face while he added, "Did I catch you off guard, beautiful?"

Aerith placed a hand over her heart to try and calm her nerves as she replied back with, "Yes you did surprise me." Once she realized the book was still open she went on with, "I'm sorry I looked through your book without asking you first though."

"Hey, it's no big deal." The raccoon reassured her, before he turned her around away from the book. He then began to walk out of the room bringing the brunette with him while he added "But there's no time to be looking through my families book right now gorgeous. We need to get you to the Hazard Room before we go on our date."

The green eyed young woman nodded in understanding as she began to walk next to him. While the two headed towards the door she heard the book close from behind the two. Before she could see what caused it to close though the thief showed her his cane and winked at her. Seeing this caused her to shake her head with a smile as she whispered, "I should have known."

ooooooo

Sly opened the door to the Hazard Room for Aerith as he said, "Well, here it is. This is The Hazard Room."

He watched the young woman look around the large empty room for a short time. She then began to walk around the large space and while she did this though she commented, "This room is much bigger than I thought it would be."

The hazel eyed thief grinned in Aerith's direction before he told her, "Well, I better get to the main control room so I'll see you shortly. Good luck."

Once that had been said the anthro raccoon proceeded to walk out of the Hazard Room closing the door behind him. As he was making his way to the main control room though the thief lightly pressed onto his ear piece and said, "Ok Bentley, you can go ahead and begin the training sessions."

"Did you leave an extra communicator for Aerith?" The turtle asked, from the other end of the ear piece.

"Of course I did. Did you remember to setup your grapple-cam so you can tell Aerith where the ear piece is?" The raccoon questioned back with, as he was about to open the door to the control room.

While he was opening the door though the hazel eyed raccoon could hear the anthro turtle's voice as he answered back with, "Sly you should already know the answer to that question."

ooooooo

Aerith continued to look around the empty room as she thought, "_All three of them say this is where they train for a heist. But it's completely empty in here. However, Bentley seems to be a very intelligent….turtle. So he must have set up some kind of system that starts the training process."_

"Hello Aerith, can you hear me?" A voice asked, to which the young woman knew it was Bentley's.

She looked around the room trying to find where his voice was coming from as she asked, "Bentley? Where are you?"

"I'm using my grapple-cam to talk to you….for now. Just follow the sound of my voice and I'll guide you to something that'll make commutating much easier." The glasses wearing turtle explained.

"Alright lead the way." The healer responded back with, as she waited to hear where to go.

"Okay just head straight and turn a little to your right and you're there." The turtle said, while he watched the brunette make her towards the camera. Once she was there he added, "Very good. Now look down and you'll see a small device on a crate. I want you to lightly place it in your ear."

"Do you mean like this?" The human asked, before she lifted the item up and did what was instructed.

And within a few seconds she heard Bentley's voice again while he let out, "Yes that's right. Now all you need to do to commutate with either Murray, Sly, or myself is to gently press against the ear piece."

The young woman did just that as she questioned "So all I do is press lightly against it like this?"

Once she had done this there was nothing but static for a few seconds before Sly's voice was heard, "Hey, nice job there Aerith. Now let's see how each of your magical attacks would affect a guard if you ever came with us on a heist." Soon after three tall rows of boxes fell onto different parts of the floor. The young woman then saw a different type of anthro with a flashlight appear out of nowhere. And as it had it's back to her the raccoon added, "Ok, go ahead and give it a try."

The green eyed young woman ready herself by pointing the top of the staff at the guard. She also made sure her aim was on point as she focused her energy before she released a blast of fire magic at the anthro. The unaware guard instantly disappeared after jumping into the air after being set on fire. "Nice job. Now let's see what the other two types of magic will do to the guards Once you do that we'll move on to something else.." Sly voice said, from the other end of the ear piece.

"Alright I'm ready." Aerith replied, as she get herself into position to cast another spell.

And like a little bit ago a guard appeared out of thin air with its back to her. The young woman aim carefully yet again before she fired a blast of ice magic. Once it hit the anthro it froze instantly in place. The brunette took her chance and ran up to the frozen guard and hit her staff against him. And after three hits the ice shattered in many tiny pieces to reveal that nothing had been left behind. The magic user quickly noticed a light shining behind her and when she looked down she saw her own shadow.

The brunette however acted quickly as she rolled out of the guard's range of attack when it tried to shoot her with its gun. After she had done that the healer quickly ran towards some nearby boxes and hid behind them hoping she would not be found. While she was hiding though Aerith found herself holding her breathe as she saw the flashlight from the guard go over where she was at. After a few seconds had passed though she heard the guard grunt before walking away causing her to mentally sigh with relief. She then stood up from her hiding place and acted fast as she aimed her staff and casted a lighting spell which made the guard disappear after the bolt of lighting had struck him. Once that was done the young woman heard the thief's voice again while he commented, "Very nicely done Aerith. I was wondering what you would do in that type of situation." She then heard the door to the Hazard Room being open causing her to turn only to see the raccoon as he added, "And now it's time for you and me to get ready for our date."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sly looked at his reflection in the mirror as he combed his hair to where it would lay to his liking. Unfortunately after he had tried for a few minutes he decided just to keep his hair the way it was. He then decided to focus on his bowtie and once he had straighten it he grinned smugly while he told himself, "Boy am I glad I kept this suit from that heist we pulled off where I danced with Carmelita so Murray could steal the Clockwork wings."

His right ear twitched when he heard the opened door to his room being knocked on. Along with that he heard Aerith's voice as she asked, "Sly, are you ready to leave?"

The raccoon lightly chuckled before he turned around and replied, "Hey, I'm the one who should be asking you that question. But anyway yeah I'm ready to go…." The thief found himself stopping midway when he saw the brunette wearing a strapless red dress that went down to her ankles. Along with that she had a pair of black shoes and a matching red bow. As he stared at her he told her, "Wow, you look amazing."

The hazel eyed raccoon watched a light blush form on the young woman's face as she responded with, "Thank you, Sly. And might I say you look very nice in that suit you're wearing too."

"Thanks beautiful, it's nice to know I still make this old suit look good." Sly commented, while he walked up to the healer and took one of her hands into one of his own.

"So what exactly do you have planned for us to do tonight?" The brunette asked, as the two walked down the hallway towards the main room of the hideout.

Hearing this question caused the hazel eyed thief to look at the young woman with a smug smile before he answered back with "Don't worry it's not going to be anything too out of the ordinary. I just planned on us having dinner and then maybe just walk around for a little bit afterwards."

ooooooo

Bentley and Murray sat in the front of the van waiting for both Sly and Aerith to get in so they could take them to the restaurant Sly was planning on going to. Or at least get them close enough to it so they did not need to walk a long distance. White the two waited though the turtle heard his friend let out a sigh as he asked "Hey Bentley, do you think this relationship Sly's starting with Aerith will turn out better than the one he tried to have with Carmelita?"

"To be honest Murray I have no idea. But what the three of us do as a group doesn't seem to bother Aerith, so maybe they will last longer together. That is until Penelope comes here with those extra parts to the time machine." The anthro turtle replied, before he adjusted his glasses.

"Huh? What do you mean by extra parts? I thought you time machine was pretty done by now?" The pink hippo questioned, while he tilted his head slightly to the left side.

"Well the time machine for the most part is done, Murray. However, do to the fact that Aerith is obviously from an entirely different planet there's no way time travel would be enough to get her back home." Bentley explained, as he shook his head from side to side.

The anthro turtle could tell that the hippo was going to ask him more questions. But he was unable to because the back doors to the van opened to reveal the human and raccoon. The two turned and watched as their friend got into the van first before he turned around and helped the brunette get in. Once that had been Sly closed the two doors and led Aerith to the back of the seats. He then sat down and after she had done the same he said "Okay Murray, we're good to go."

"Alright then everybody hold on because we are out of here!" The pink hippo announced, before he turned the key therefore starting up the van.

Once the van was speeding down the dirt road however Bentley quickly said, "Murray you might want to slow the speed down a bit. This isn't one of the races you compete in. All we're trying to do is get Sly and Aerith to the restaurant without drawing any attention from the police."

"Don't worry Bentley I know to slow down once we get closer to the city." Murray reassured his friend, as he kept his eyes on the road.

While this was going the turtle took the opportunity to open up the glove compartment and pull out a notepad and a pen. He then proceeded to turn to look at the brunette and once he had clicked the back of the pen once he said, "Aerith, if it's not too much trouble I was wondering if you wouldn't mind telling me what the name of you home planet is. This way once the additional components are added you can easily be returned home."

"The place I came from is called, Gala. However, we normally just refer to it as, The Planet." The young woman stated, while she looked in the turtle's direction. Bentley then saw her gently remove the small metal ear piece out from her ear before she handed it back to him and added, "By the way I forgot to give this back you."

"Oh that's quite alright Aerith, you're more than welcome to keep it." The anthro turtle replied, as he gently closed her hand over the small ear piece.

"That very nice of you to give me this device Bentley, but I don't think I'll have any use for it." The brunette kindly protested with, while she looked at her closed hand.

The turtle was going to protest that statement, however he soon saw that Sly had a different idea when he suggested, "You know if you want I'll hand on to it for you, Aerith."

The raccoon gently opened up the young woman's hand and took the ear piece into his own. Bentley saw her smile at the thief while she said, "Thank you, Sly."

Bentley was going to make some type of comment, but he soon changed his mind once he saw that they were in the city he then said "Oh, I guess we've already made it in the city." He turned his attention towards the hippo while he went on with, "Okay Murray, I think it'd be for the best if we stopped here. We wouldn't want Inspector Fox to find out about this and get curious. If that were to happen it would end up making Sly and Aerith's date more than just a little awkward."

"Right, Bentley." The pink hippo replied, as began to slow down the van before stopping it completely.

ooooooo

"Alright Sly, this is as far as we're going to go with the van. You and Aerith will have to walk to the restaurant from here." The anthro turtle pointed out, as the young woman looked from the turtle to the raccoon.

The brunette watched as the thief walked up to the back doors to the van before opening them and then exited the vehicle. He then turned around and smiled at her with an outstretched hand while he asked, "You coming, beautiful? I can't really be on a date if I'm by myself."

"I'm coming." The healer responded with, as she made her way to the back of the van. She then took the hazel eyed raccoon's hand into one of her own. He then helped her out of the vehicle and onto the sideway.

Once that had been done along with the back doors being shut the young woman heard the turtle's voice again while he told them, "Now Sly, Murray and I will be back in this exact spot two hours from now. Also it's very important that you-"

'Okay, okay, I get Bentley. I promise to be careful." Sly replied, before he waved his hand dismissively. Aerith then saw him look at her again as he offered her his left arm and added, "Now that, that's out of way shall we get going?"

The green eyed young woman smiled while she accepted the gesture by linking her arm with his and as she did this she answered back with, "Yes, and now I'm starting to wonder if you have any specials planed for me that you won't tell me."

**A/N: "sighs" Finally I got this chapter done. It kind of took me longer than I wanted to get this one done. And in the next chapter some more interesting factors come into play. So stay tuned.**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Panther Caroso took a drink of water from the glass he was holding onto before setting it back onto the table. The anthro panther than placed his hand underneath his chin deciding to reflect on how he came to be here in Paris France. It had been almost a year since he had left Team Star Wolf after the bounties on their heads had been removed. One of the reasons behind him leaving was because a beautiful vixen by the name of Krystal, who had broken up with Fox McCloud the leader of Team Star Fox. However, to the yellow eyed panther's dismay instead of joining the team to be with him she actually joined the team to be with the leader of the team, Wolf O'Donnell. Seeing this caused the panther to rethink his goals in life this being the other reason leading him to leave the team.

However, it had not been that easy to get work here in Paris as the dark purple furred panther had to work his way up the ladder. And since he considered himself to be quite the ladies cat he decided to become an actor. At first he only made small appearances in films having only a few lines here or there. However, within time his role changed from minor roles to major ones after a report came out revealing what his previous line of work had been before becoming an actor. Once that had been said and done the offers came in like no tomorrow and along with starring in major films the feline also found himself starring in more adult type movies as well. But this did not bother Panther as he had always thought he had an amazing body which he did not mind showing off to any female who wanted to stay with him for a while.

And even though his life was pretty prefect the anthro panther felt as though something was still missing as he let a sigh and whispered, "I wonder will I ever find what is missing in my life?"

After he had said this however, one of the anthro cat's ears twitched when he heard a waiter's voice as he said, "Here's your table for you and your date, sir."

Hearing this caused the former mercenary to look across from his table while being a bit surprised at what he saw. The first person he saw was a raccoon in a purple tuxedo which to the panther seemed to be a bit faded in some areas which did not impress him in the least. The young lady who had came with the raccoon however did catch his attention as he was not expecting to see a human on this planet. Her hair was in a French Brad with a red bow along with it. And once the dark purple furred panther looked a bit lower he saw her eyes were a beautiful green and face looked like that of an angel.

But once Panther saw the dress the young woman was wearing he let out a purr while he quietly commented, "Such a beautiful creature. Now I must think of a way to get her attention away from that raccoon." He then found himself looking down at the single red rose that he had with him he smirked confidently as he added, "And I do believe I have found the answer to my problem."

ooooooo

Aerith smiled brightly at the gray and black furred raccoon that sat across from her while he asked her, "So I take it by that smile you've been enjoying our date so far?"

"Yes, I've been having a wonderful time so far." The brunette replied, as she placed her chin on top of her hand. She then went on with, "It brings back memories of someone I used to have a relationship with."

"Huh, so you were with someone else before you met that Cloud guy?" Sly asked, while he tilted his head to the left a bit.

"Yes, his name was Zack, and he made me very happy. He was actually the one who purchased the pink bow that you saw me wearing when you and I first met." The healer explained, before her smile faded. There was a short time of silence until she continued with, "He and I had become very close to one another over the years. However, most of the time we just talked to one another by letters and other means after he had left." Not to the young woman's surprise she felt herself holding back a tear or two when she ended with, "Unfortunately while tending to the flowers I was growing after four years of not receiving any type of contact from him. I….I felt as though something was wrong and that perhaps his life had come to an end. But the worst part of it is that I have yet to find out how his death had happened."

"I'm sorry to hear about that happening, Aerith. It must have been hard not knowing for sure if Zack was dead or not." The hazel eyed thief answered back with, before the brunette saw him reach over and grab one of her hands.

A smile spread across the young woman's face as she told him, "Sly, thank you for the comforting gesture, but I promise you that I'm alright."

"Um, excuse me." Someone said, causing the two to look to their right. And once they saw it was a waiter he went on with, "I don't mean to interrupt your dinner. But I was asked to give this to the young lady."

"Thank you very much." Aerith replied, before she gently took the red rose from the waiter. She then brought it up to her nose and lightly sniffed it before she added, "It's beautiful. Thank you Sly."

When the green eyed healer looked back over at the anthro raccoon though she became a bit confused once he said, "Sorry beautiful, but if I was going to give you a rose I would have done it by now."

"Um actually the man who asked me to give you the rose is sitting over there." The waiter confessed, as he turned to the side so that he was out of there line of sight.

Once the two looked over at the table that the waiter had mentioned to they saw a dark purple furred panther in a black suit sitting at the table. The brunette gently set the rose down onto the table before she began to get up out of her chair. While she did this however, she heard the thief's voice as he asked, "Where are you running off to gregarious?"

"Don't worry Sly, I'm not going far. I just want to thank the person who gave me the rose is all." The brunette reasurred, before she began to walk up towards the anthro panther's table.

ooooooo

A grin spread across Panther's muzzle when he saw the young human woman walk up to his table. And once she was within range he greeted her with, "Good evening."

"Hello." The brunette replied, with a smile on her face. Seeing this caused the panther to watch her intently while she added, "Thank you for the rose. It was a very sweet gesture."

Hearing that his actions where nothing more than a gesture caused the yellow eyed panther sigd lightly before he explained, "My dear, having my rose given to you was not merely a friendly gesture. You interest me because you are the first human that I have come acrossed on this planet."

"What? You aren't originally from here?" The healer asked, with a surprised tone in her voice.

A light chuckle escaped the dark purple furred panther's lips while he said, "No, I am not. Before I came to live here I was a mercenary in outer space in an entirely different galaxy. However, that is my past now and nothing more." He then gently took the brunette's right hand and moved it towards his lips before he placed a kiss on it and went on with, "Please forgive me for my lack of a proper introduction. My names is Panther Caroso, and what is your name my dear?"

"My name is Aerith Gainsborough, and it's very nice to meet you Panther." The young woman replied, as Panther noticed the raccoon had started to get up out of his seat.

While the gray and black furred raccoon walked towards them the anthro panther let out a light purr as he told her, "You have a lovely name, my dear. And you're appearance is simply beautiful, like that of an angel."

Before the green eyed human could comment his remarks Panther saw that the raccoon was now standing next to the young woman. Seeing this caused the anthro actor to put on a poker face while the other male anthro suggested, "Aerth, I think we should get going."

"Oh yes, of course." Aerith responded, as she looked at the hazel eyed raccoon for a moment. The yellow eyed panther watched the other anthro gently take her hand into his before the pair started to walk away. While they did this though the young woman added, "It was nice meeting you Panther, and thank you again for the rose."

The former mercenary smiled and waved goodbye to the brunette. But while the two stopped to pay the bill for their dinner Panther glared in the raccoon's direction while he thought, "_I can see that, that raccoon may be an obstacle I will have to overcome if I wish to have that lovely angel for myself."_

**A/N: I finally got it done. I apologize to everyone for making you wait so long, but I've been busy since I'm considering going back to school. Or I might be getting a job sometime soon. (Or I might end up doing both) So I won't lie it might be a while until the next chapter is up. Hopefully that won't be the case though.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Sly walked up to the door that led to Bentley's work area the next day with slight concern about what he had heard the panther say to Aerith before he suggested that they leave. Before he knocked on the door however, the raccoon told himself, "_I know that guy was trying to do more than just complement Aerith on her looks. I wonder what his game is?"_

Once he had decided on what to do he knocked on the door while he asked "Hey Bentley, you go a minute? I need your help finding some information on a guy Aerith and I came across last night."

The hazel eyed thief knew that what he just said had caught his friend's attention when he turned around and commented with, "Yeah I can do that right now actually. But are you sure you aren't only asking me to do thing because you're jealous?"

Hearing this statement caused the black and white furred raccoon to cross his arms and roll his eyes as he responded with, "Please I am not jealous. I'm just worried about Aerith is all."

"Uh huh, I'm sure." The anthro turtle replied, before he walked up to the computer and sat down in the chair that was in front of it. Once the computer had started up and was online Sly saw his friend look at him from his over shoulder as he went on with, "So does this guy have a name?"

The anthro thief placed a hand underneath his chin while he thought back to the pervious night. Once he had done this he said, "Hmm, if I remember right I think he said that his name was Panther Caroso."

"I see. So was this the guy you were talking about?" The turtle questioned, as he moved slightly away from the computer screen.

Sly quickly walked up to the computer and stared at the picture which showed a dark purple furred panther in a brown suit on the red carpet to some type of award show. And once he saw the actor's name he let out, "Yep that's him alright. Now let's see what type of background this guy has." The raccoon placed his hand on top of the mouse and scrolled down on the computer screen until he found what he was looking for. Once he had found said information he continued with, "Hmm, from what this news article says it seems this guy used be a member of a mercenary group named Team Star Wolf in a galaxy called, The Lylat System. Funny thing is this article doesn't seem to say why he left the team." After he had scrolled down a bit more his eyebrows raised upward before he ended with, "Ah ha, I knew this guy was nothing but trouble. It says here that he considers himself quite the ladies cat and that his starred in more than a few adult films before his career really took off."

"Okay so now that you know Panther's background how are you going to keep him away from Aerith?" The turtle asked, while he tilted his head to the side.

A grin spread across the raccoon's face along with one of ears twitching upon hearing the question. He then turned his head to the left and answered back with, "Don't worry Bentley I'm pretty sure I'll think of something."

The hazel eyed thief saw an unimpressive look on his friend's face while he remarked back with, "Yes I'm sure you do. And by that look on your face I'm sure it's not going to end well either."

ooooooo

Aerith slowly poured the last of the water from inside the small glass she was holding into the potted plant in front of her as she let out, "There, that's the last one. Now all of the plants have been watered." The young woman then looked around the room for a little bit while she added, 'But I'm starting to think that maybe another plant of some type should be added. Just so this place can feel more like a home instead of just being meant as a hideout."

"That's real sweet of you to try and make this place feel more like a home. But that's really not necessary, beautiful." A voice commented, causing the brunette to turn around only to see the anthro thief with a smile on his face. She then felt him gently cup her chin with his right hand while he went on with, "And besides with you here this place has felt more like a home then it ever as before."

The young woman felt she should reply to the anthro's comment, but before she could the two heard Bentley's voice when he exclaimed, "Guys, I just received a message from Penelope. She said that she's almost here and she also has the extra parts with her."

"Don't worry Bentley, I'll go greet her and help her carry the stuff in." Sly reassured the turtle, as he then let go of the healer's chin walked up to the door and headed outside.

Aerith found herself smiling as she was looking forward to meting yet another friend of the thief. From the corner of her eye though she could not but notice that the anthro turtle was shaking slightly. A concerned look came upon her face as she asked, "Bentley, are you alright?"

"I-yes, I'm okay Aerith. I'm just a little worried about what Penelope will think when she sees that I can walk." Bentley confessed, while he adjusted his glasses slightly.

Yet again the human wanted to reassure her new friend that there was nothing to worry about. However, she was not able to do once when she saw the door open and heard a voice coming from outside as it said, "Thanks again for helping me bring these extra parts inside Sly."

"No problem, Penelope." The black and gray furred raccoon replied, before the young woman saw him walk back inside the hideout.

Behind him though she saw a light purple furred anthro mouse who seemed to be dressed like a mechanic. Once the mouse made eye contact with her the brunette greeted her with, "Hello you must be Penelope, it's nice to meet you. Bentley's mentioned you quite a few times."

"Huh, who are you? I've never seen you before?" The mouse responded with, before she adjusted her glasses. The young woman watched as the female inventor focused her eyes for a moment while she added, "Wait your name wouldn't happen to be Aerith would it?" Hearing this caused her to nod in response to the question which caused the mouse to look a tad embarrassed as she ended with, "Oh, so you're the one Bentley told me about. He told me your name, but he never said that you were human. Of course that would explains why he wanted me to get so many extra parts for the time machine we built together."

"Oh Penelope, you're here." Bentley replied, from inside the other room. Surprisingly the brunette hadn't even noticed that the turtle had left the room.

Aerith saw a smile spread across the mouse's face while she commented with, 'Hey handsome, why don't you come out here and greet me properly."

"Um, okay…." The turtle responded back with, before the three saw him walk into the room. Once he was in the room they saw him rub the back of his neck as he continued with, "I, hello Penelope it's great to see you again. And I know that seeing me walking instead of being in my wheelchair might be surprising."

"Um yeah this is…surprising. So how exactly did this happen/" The anthro mouse questioned, while she walked up to him.

"Actually it was thanks to Aerith's healing magic that caused Bentley to be able to walk again." The hazel eyed anthro raccoon answered, as he walked passed them and into the other room.

The young woman watched as the light purple furred mechanic turned her head and looked up at her and responded with, 'Hmm, you know I would say that I find something like that to be unbelievable. But after all of the things Bentley's told me about I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Well, like I've said before I was more than happy to help." The brunette stated, while she smiled and began to walk into the other room along with Penelope and Bentley.

**A/N: "sighs" I finally got this chapter done. I apologize that it took me so long to get this done. However, I've been pretty busy lately and because of this I'm not for sure when the next chapter will be up. But I will try and get it done by next weekend. (hopefully) So leave a review and thanks for reading this chapter. Oh, I would also like to apologize if the ending to this chapter feels a bit odd…but that will not be case for the rest of this story though.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Cloud walked towards the edge of a nearby cliff still wondering where Aerith had been sent away to. He also wondered if she was even still alive as he let out, "I hope she's alright."

"You're thinking about Aerith again aren't you?" Someone asked, which caused the swordsman to slightly turn around.

Once he saw the said person being Tifa he turned back around towards the edge of the cliff and answered back with, "Yes, I am and honestly could you really blame me? We have no idea where she could be." He closed his eyes before he continued with, "And even after we had defeated Sephiroth, we still weren't able to get any information from him. Besides now that his gone I guess we'll never find her."

The former soldier heard the black haired woman let out a sigh as she replied with, "Like I've told you time and time again Cloud, we will find Aerith. It might just be a while before we can find the planet she was sent to."

The blue eyed swordsman was gong to comment on what his friend had just said. However, before he could someone else beat him to it as a voice replied, "So you're looking for a young lady named Aerith, huh? She wouldn't happen to have long brown hair and green eyes would she?"

Hearings these questions caused both Cloud and Tifa to quickly turn around only to see someone completely cancelled within a black cloak. And while the two stared at the cloaked figure the swordsman bitterly asked, "Yeah she does, but why would it matter to you? Do you know where she is?"

"I might know where she is. But I'm afraid she didn't come with me." The figure stated, before he chuckled lightly.

Hearing thic aused Cloud to quickly pull out his sword while he shot back, "Fine if that's the case then I guess I'll just have to force the answers out of you. Maybe then you'll tell us where Aerith is."

Again the former soldier heard another chuckle from the odd visitor as he replied, "Hey, now I didn't come here to fight you. My friends and I were just tryting to find out if our way of returning her home would work or not." After this had been said he and the raven haired young woman watched as the stranger turned around and went on with, "But since we do know that it works I guess we'll send her on her way. However, that might not be for a while though."

"And why is that? If you now know that you can send her home why would want to wait?" Tifa asked, as she took a step forward. When Cloud looked over at his friend he saw that her eyes were now narrowed slightly when she continued with, "Unless you have a reason for keeping her there. And if you do have one I would like to know what it is."

Again the two heard a chuckle from the visitor before he responded back with, "Sorry sweetheart, but I can't tell you or your spiky haired friend the reason why I would like Aerith to stay where I live for a little bit longer. However, you have my word that once she's ready to leave my friends and I will make sure she is brought back here safe and sound."

The blue eyed swordsman was a tad uncertain of the strangers words, but before he or Tifa could say anything else to him they noticed smoke had started to build in front of him. Within a few seconds however, it went away and so did the cloaked visitor.

ooooooo

Bentley and Murray continued to wait inside the van wondering if Sly had found Aerith's two friends or not. While they waited for him to return the anthro hippo asked with concern in his voice, "Hey Bentley, you don't think something happened to Sly on his way back to the van do you?"

"Hmm, to be honest it's quite possible Sly could have ran into some sort of trouble. But even if he did you and I both know that he'd be able to get himself out of the situation without much trouble." The turtle reassured him, while he adjusted his glasses slightly.

But when the anthro turtle turned to look out the window to keep an eye out for the raccoon he heard the anthro hippo's voice for a second time as he asked, "So how exactly did Penelope get Aerith out of the hideout before we left?"

The green skinned turtle placed a hand underneath his chin before he responded back with, "Hmm, if I remember right Penelope told me that she was just going to show Aerith some stores in the city."

Bentley knew that Murray wanted to reply to his answer in some way, however before he could the two heard one of the back doors to the van open. And when the two turned their heads towards the back they saw a cloaked figure close the door he had entered before walking a little bit and then sat down. Once that had been the anthro turtle titled his head a bit while he questioned, "So, how did it go?"

The figure moved the hood away revealing his smirking face as he responded back with, "Everything went according to plan. Aerith's two friends were kind of edge though. But then again I wouldn't blame them if they ended up having doubts about me promising to bring Aerith back here."

"Speaking of that matter when exactly where you planning on bringing her back here anyway? We obviously came to the right planet using my modified time machine so you can't use that as an excuse." Bentley stated, while he gave his friend a skeptical look.

Once this had done the turtle saw that the anthro thief was now looking down at the ground with his right hand rubbing the back of his neck. And as he did this he confessed, "Well, to be honest I would rather she not want to return here. But I gave both Cloud and his other friend Tifa my word. So I guess I'll have to go through with it sooner or later." After that Bentley turned back around when the van was started up and then went through the portal back to Paris France. But while the van drove through the portal the black and grey furred raccoon told himself, "_Hmm, I bet I could find a way to convince Aerith to stay in Paris. I'll just have to look around the city for a vacant shop."_

**A/N: Finally another chapter has been added. I hope this chapter wasn't confusing or too short. However, now that this one is done I will hopefully be able to finish the rest of the story. Then again with Christmas coming along with my birthday I guess we'll just have to wait and see.**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Aerith and Penelope walked down the sidewalk later on that night having enjoyed a nice day in the city. But while the entire day in and of itself had been quite nice there was still something that had been bothering the brunette the entire time which prompted her to ask, "By the way Penelope, where did the guys end up heading off to before we left today?

"Oh, um…..they just ended up going on a small heist. Of course since they didn't need my help with anything they suggested that we spend the day together." The light purple mouse answered back with, as she hoped the young woman would drop the subject quickly.

The green eyed healer smiled while she replied, "Well, if that's the case then I'm sure they're already back at the hideout by now. I can't wait to tell how much fun I had today."

She could tell that the anthro mechanic was about to response in some way to her comment. However, she was not given a chance as a voice interrupted with, "Ah, it would seem that good fortune has smiled upon me once again. How have you been since I saw you last, my dear?"

The young woman looked in front of her to see Panther Caroso smiling at her. In return she smiled back and answered back with, "Oh it's you Panther Caroso, you're the one who gave me that rose after commenting about my looks."

A grin spread across the anthro panther muzzle while he replied back with, "I am honored that you would remember my name. Perhaps fate has brought us together for a certain reason."

"_Oh bother, give me a break. I sure hope Aerith isn't falling for this guy and his cheesy lines." _The mouse told herself, as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, but I am being rude to your friend here. She must be jealous that I have given you my full attention thus far." The yellow eyed panther commented, bringing the mouse out of her thoughts.

The anthro mouse quickly looked away in disgust and shot back with, "Sorry to disappoint you but I've already got a boyfriend. So your "charm" won't work on me buster."

"Hmm, pity." Panther responded, while he turned his attention back to the brunette. He grinned at her once more and continued with, "Well, then I suppose you will now have my undivided attention Aerith."

"That's very nice of you Panther, but Penelope and I have to get back home." The young woman said, before she began to walk past the anthro actor.

Once Penelope had joined her however, the green eyed human looked at the purple furred mouse when she practically yelled, "Oh by the way, Aerith here is already taken! And the guy she's with is ten times better then you ever would hope to be!"

Hearing this caused the panther to ball up both of his hands into fists as he told himself, "So my beautiful angel is already with another. It has to be that filthy raccoon she was with the first time I had laid my eyes upon her." He then began to go on his way, but as he did so he went on with, "If that truly is the case then I suppose I will just have to play dirty to win her affection. And with that in mind there is no way he will be able to win."

ooooooo

Sly pulled the Binocucom away from his eyes as he let out, "There it is." The raccoon then jumped off of the branch his was on and made his way towards the mansion that was in front of him. And while he sneaked around the yard of the home he saw an opened window on the second floor. Upon seeing this he added, "Ah ha, there's my ticket inside."

The anthro thief bent himself towards the ground before jumping high into the air. Once he was in the air he quickly pulled his cane forward and grabbed onto the edge of the balcony railing. He then quickly swung towards the wall and pushed himself backwards with his feet sending him closer to the outside balcony. After that had been done he let go of his cane and landed onto the railing with ease. He quickly recovered his cane and proceeded to sneak inside the mansion making sure to stay in the shadows.

That method would have worked if the lights to the room hadn't come on revealing the panther who Sly knew had an interest in Aerith. While he closed his robe however, the dark purple furred feline let out, "You know I somehow knew you were going to show up here."

"Well, if that's the case then you obviously know why I'm here." The hazel eyed raccoon responded back with, as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Indeed I do, Sly Cooper. You're here because you must have gotten word of my encounter with Aerith, am I correct?" The yellow eyed panther replied back, with a smirk on his face.

The black and grey furred raccoon returned the smirk while he calmly shot back, "I will admit that I do have my ways of receiving information. However, I'm only going to tell you once to stay away from Aerith. That is if you know what's good for you."

"Is that a threat? You certainly have a lot guts threating me since I am not only a celebrity, but you must know that I used to be a former mercenary. So if you do plan on trying to attack me then I'm afraid you will come to regret that decision." Panther stated coldly, as the thief saw him slowly walk backwards towards something.

Not waiting to find out what the anthro actor was going do Sly ran up to him and turned his cane around so that it was wrapped around his nexk. Once this was done he smirk was also replaced by a cold glare when he told him, "You know what I said earlier wasn't a threat."

"Oh don't worry I believe you, thief. But you must know that what I said too was no mere threat." The purple furred actor responded back with, as the raccoon heard a clicking noise. The hazel eyed thief would have looked to his left to see the item in question. However, he already knew that a gun of some type had been pointed towards his face while the panther added, "But now if you don't mind I have a few questions that I would like answered. The first question is simple what exactly do you plan on gaining by being with the beautiful Aerith?"

"What do I have to gain? How about for starters I have a chance to be with someone who won't let her occupation get in the way of our relationship." Sly countered, which caused his mind to flash back to Carmelita for a moment.

After he broke away from the memory the anthro raccoon saw Panther flash him a toothy grin while he informed him, "Ah yes I remember reading in the paper that Inspector Fox and her "partner" had left one another. But now that I get a good look at you I see now you were her partner weren't you?"

"That's really none of your business." Sly shot back, as his eyebrows narrowed in anger.

A light chuckle escaped the yellow eyed panther's mouth before he responded with, "Oh, so it seems I've hit a nerve have I? Well then I've afraid my other question will get under skin also."

"Ok, so what kind of question were you planning on asking me?" The hazel eyed thief questioned, pushing his cane a bit closer against the panther's furry neck.

"My second question to you is how exactly are you planning on making your relationship with Aerith work? You obviously know that sooner or later she will want to go back to her home planet. So what will you do then once she does leaves for good?" The anthro actor asked, with a cocky grin on his face.

"You knwow you sound pretty confident that she'll end up wanting to leave. But I hate to break to you, but I plan on making sure she wants to stay." Sly countered, still wary of the gun that was pointed at the left side of his face.

"Really, and how exactly will you do that?" Panther asked, raising an eyebrow in interest.

Hearing this caused the raccoon to show a confident look as he answered back with, "Well, the answer to that question is simple. I plan on asking her to marry me." Upon looking up at the purple furred panther Sly could not help but chuckle onse he saw his stunted reaction. This prompted him to continue speaking when he went on with, "What's the matter, Panther? Did my answer surprise you?"

After this had been done he saw the shocked look on the panther's face quickly be replaced with a scowl. Seeing this caused the hazel eyed thief to look to his left once more only to see the other anthro's finger start to push back on the trigger. Once this had been done the only thing that was heard in the room was that of a gunshot.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

A small amount of smoke could been leaving the gun as Panther continued to glare daggers at the raccoon who still stood before him. He then turned his attention away from the thief and looked ahead of him to see the bullet from the gun laying on the ground. While he did this he heard the thief's voice when he asked, "You know you easily could have killed me. So now I'm curious why didn't you go through with it?"

"You're right I could have killed you right then and there even if I no longer have my blaster. However, I suppose I felt death was too good for you." The purple furred panther answered back with, as he moved the gun away from the raccoon's direction.

"If that's how you feel then I take it you would rather I rot in jail than?" The hazel eyed thief questioned, while the feline felt him remove his cane from around his neck.

The yellow eyed actor let out a chuckle before he turned away from him and replied, "I'm afraid you're right, I would rather see you behind bars. So if I were you I would leave my property this instance…..or else."

At first the anthro feline heard nothing from the raccoon. But within a short amount of time instead of a verbal response he heard him walk away. This prompted Panther to turn his head and look behind him only to see the thief now standing outside giving him one last glare before jumping onto the railing and then onto the ground below. And after waiting a few more minutes the anthro actor told himself, "Now that his gone I can begin with my plan Although I'm certain Aerith will be cross with me if she ever found out what I was about to do." He then placed the gun on the small end table before he headed towards another small table this one having a phone sitting on it. Once he was in front of the said phone he picked it up and dialed a number before placing it up to his right ear while it began to ring. The anthro panther did not have to wait long for someone to pick up on the other line because during the third ring it stopped. He then heard a woman's voice as it said, "Thank you for calling the Interpol Police Station, this is Inspector Carmleita Fox speaking."

"Good evening Inspector Fox, this is Panther Caroso speaking. And I believe I have some information that might interest you." The feline actor implied, as a grin spread across his muzzle.

"Really, and what information would that be?" The vixen asked, from the other end of the line.

Hearing this caused the yellow eyed panther to let out a chuckle before he answered back with, "The information I have for you has to deal with a certain thief that you have been trying to put behind bars."

ooooooo

Carmelita nodded her head as she wrote done the last of what the anthro panther had to say. Once this was done she asked, "So is that everything you have to tell me? You're not forgetting anything are you?"

"No, that is everything I wanted to tell you. Have a pleasant evening, Miss Fox." The anthro panther answered, from the other end of the line.

Hearing the last comment caused the vixen to roll eyes and sigh with annoyance while she replied back with, "Yes, goodnight to you also." Once she heard the phone on the other end of the line hang up she did the same. After that she looked down at the information the actor had given her. As she looked it over though she added, "Tch, I can't believe Cooper would be dumb enough to try and attack a celebrity. Why would he even consider doing something like that?" But while she pondered this the orange furred fox's mind ended up flashing back to the human she had seen with the thief. Thinking about the matter though caused her to let out a growl when she ended with, "I bet it had something to do with that Aerith girl. I still don't understand why he would be interested in her. But maybe if I can find a way to confront her without Sly there then perhaps I'll be able to get the answers I'm looking for."

ooooooo

Aerith walked down the hallway later on that night heading towards the room that had Sly's family book in it. Once she had reached the doorknob though the brunette found herself stopping for a moment while she asked herself, "I wonder if I should really be trying to take another look at Sly's book. However, I really want to try and find out more about him and his family."

When she turned the doorknob and opened the door she saw that the lamp in the room was on along with the raccoon standing in front of the book. She watched as he turned around and once he realized it was her the young woman saw the thief smile at her while he asked, "Hey beautiful,, what are you doing up so late? Couldn't fall asleep or something?"

"In a way yes I couldn't fall asleep." The healer answered, as she walked into the room. While she made her way towards the raccoon and the opened book though she added, "But I suppose I'm just really curious about what you and the other members of your family had written in your book over the years."

The green eyed human watched the anthro place a hand underneath his chin when he told her, "Hmm, you know I think it'd be alright for you to take a look through the book. However, if I let you do this then you'll have to add something to the book to make this fair."

Hearing that she herself would have to add something to Sly's book after being shown some pages of it caused the brunette to hesitate slightly before she responded with, "That's very sweet of you to offer me a chance to add something to your book. But would it really be alright if I did that?"

After she had finished speaking Aerith watched as the hazel eyed raccoon let out a chuckle while he reassured her, "You know Aerith you shouldn't be worried about stuff like that since you wouldn't be the first non-Cooper to add their story to this book." She looked on as he turned a few pages which revealed something that surprised the young woman as he continued with, "Because as you can plainly see Bentley's already made his own section in my family's book."

Soon after this was said the green eyed healer was handed a quill pen from the black and grey furred anthro. Rigth after this she found herself staring at the old style pen. And before turning to a blank page in the book she let out, "Well, here I go. I just hope what I write won't be too boring."

Surprisingly she felt a furry hand place itself underneath her chin. This caused the young woman to stop moving and let the raccoon turn her face so she was looking at him. And while the brunette stared into the thief's eyes he started to lean downward and gently kissed her before he said, "Don't worry Aerith, whatever you end up writing will be just fine."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Sly walked closely behind the now blindfolded young woman the next morning as she asked, "You know Sly, I think you went a little overbroad with this surprise of yours. And was it really necessary to blindfold me as well?"

"Oh come on beautiful, I only blindfolded you because I didn't want you to see the gift I got you. Which by the way I'm sure you'll be glad to have." The anthro raccoon answered back, while the two began to turn a corner on the sidewalk. And once they had walked down a few more blocks on the street he proceeded to look ahead at the building he was bringing the healer to. The building he was taking her to was a simple colored one story flower shop which above the front window and door had a sign on the top that read Aerith's Garden. Upon walking in front of the shop the hazel eyed thief started to remove her blindfold before he added, "And here it is."

The black and grey furred anthro looked on as the brunette showed a very surprised expression as she let out, "T-This is for me? Y-You bought me a flower a shop?"

"Sure did. Now let's head inside so you can get a better look at it." The thief suggested, before he walked up to the front door and opened it.

And when the two had wailed inside the thief saw the brunette's green eyes light up with joy as she looked around at the layout of the shop. Although the layout of the flower shop was very basic with a few stands and shelves on either side of the room. But the raccoon saw that the door behind the counter had caught the healer's attention as she asked out loud, "Hmm, I wonder what is in the backroom? Perhaps it's a greenhouse of sorts where the flowers are kept?"

Upon hearing this Sly could not help but lightly chuckle while he walked up to the backdoor and suggested, "Here why don't you let me show what's back here."

Once the anthro thief had opened the door he showed a smug grin on his muzzle when he saw Aerith's look of amazement at all of the different kinds of flowers that were in the backroom. The thief was then going to show her something that he had Penelope and Bentley install in the room. But he was unable to do so once he felt the brunette wraps her arms around him in a hug before she let out, "Sly, thank you so much. I never had such a large amount of different flower choices to give other people to maybe make their lives a bit brighter. But thanks to you and the others I'll be able to give it a try."

"You're welcome, beautiful. But you know I can think of another way for you to thank me instead of just saying it." The black and grey furred raccoon jokingly implied, while he winked at her.

After he had said this the thief thought that the young woman would react in some way by giving him a look of sorts telling him to stop joking around. Instead however, he saw her smile while she leaned up and kissed him on his left cheek. She then proceeded to lightly giggle before she replied, "Please don't try and ruin the moment Sly." Once she said this she then took a hold of his right hand and went on with, "Now help me get this place ready for tomorrow."

"Oh, going to have a grand opening right away huh?" The raccoon asked, grin still present.

"Yes. And besides I'm sure I'll be more helpful for you guys while being in the city during the day." The brunette suggested, as she picked up a nearby watering can and handed the item to the anthro raccoon.

ooooooo

Aerith and Sly walked out of the flower shop later on that night feeling quite satisfied with what they had done to get the flower shop ready for tomorrow. While the brunette was busy locking the front door to the store however, she looked over at the raccoon and saw that one of his fingers was pressed up against his ear piece as he asked, "Hey Bentley, what's up?" Even though the young woman did not know what the turtle had said she could tell that it did seem to sit well with the thief when he added, "What a heist right now?" She then heard him lightly sigh while he continued with, "Alright, alright just tell me where to be and I'll meet you guys there." The green eyed healer watched as he turned to face before he ended with, "Well beautiful, I guess duty calls. So will you be alright until I get back?"

"Please don't worry Sly, I'll be fine. But you better hurry or else Bentley and Murray will beat you there." Aerith told the anthro thief, as she smiled at him with her eyes closed.

After Aerith had said this though she heard the raccoon let out a chuckle before he responded with, "You know beautiful, you're absolutely right. But once the heist has been taken care of Bentley, Murray, and I will make sure to come and get you."

Once that had been spoken the young woman opened her eyes and watched the thief run down the sidewalk. After he had turned the corner however, she knew he was gone. The brunette then decided that it would be for the best if she turned around and walked along the sidewalk to see if any other stores were open at this time. When she had made it past two shops however, the green eyed healer felt a furry hand place itself onto her shoulder before roughly pulling her into a nearby ally. Once this had been he looked up into the golden eyes of a black furred anthro wolf. She then saw the anthro pull out a knife and place it against her throat while he ordered, "If you know what's good for you, you'll give me all of your money."

"I'm sorry, but I don't have any money." Aerith softly replied, as she looked down at the ground.

The young woman wanted to say more, but she soon found herself stopping when she heard the wolf sniff the air before he replied with, "Hmm, that's interesting. I thought that since you were human I'd be able to pick up a male's scent on you." Hearing this caused her to quickly look up at his now grinning face while he added, "But since I don't then I guess this means I can do whatever I want to you."

A shiver ran down the young woman's spine after hearing the anthro's last comment. And even though she wanted to yell and call for help she knew it would not be a wise choice as the knife was still pressed up against her neck. And once she heard the wolf begin to chuckle the healer assumed that perhaps this was it for her. Instead however, both she and thw black furred anthro were quite surprised when he was shot in the arm. He let out a scream of pain which caused him to drop his knife cuasing it to fall down onto the cement. Once that had done she heard a famine voice as it coldly asked, "Hey creep, what do you think you're doing to that woman there?"

When Aerith turned her head to the right she saw a vixen in a police uniform with a brown overcoat holding a large gun which currently had a small trail of smoke coming out it. Within a few seconds however she noticed that her attacker had started to slowly back away as he let out, "Crap, it's Inceptor Fox. I better get out of here."

And before the brunette knew it the wolf was running away holding onto the his arm which she soon realized had been paralyzed. She then turned around when she heard the vixen let out a scoff and shouted, "Yeah that's right you better run, you no good coward!" When she saw the orange furred fox look in her direction though the healer saw a slight look of concern on her face as she went on with, "Are you alright, Miss?"

The brunette nodded her head while she walked a few steps towards the blue haired anthro and answered back with, "Yes, I'm alright. Thank you for showing up when you did."

Soon after she had said this though the young woman wondered what was troubling the policewoman when she heard the anthro gasp lightly followed by, "It's you."

"I-I'm sorry?" Aerith responded with, while she titled her head to the right.

The healer was hoping to receive some type of reaction from the vixen upon seeing her confused state. Instead however, she noticed that the Inspector had a determined look in her eyes before she said, "I hope you don't' mind, but I need you to come back to the police station with me. I have some questions that I need to ask you in private."

**A/N: "sighs" I finally finished this chapter. Also I apologize for the long wait however, I got quite busy towards the end of last year and at the start of this year. Now I'm just hope that this won't be the case for the next chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Sly scooped around the area one last time from atop a roof of a nearby building as he let out, "Hmm, I wonder where Aerith has gone off to. I doubt anything would have happened to her….at least I hope nothing's happened to her." He then let go of his Binocucom and gnelty pressed a finger against his ear piece while he added, "Hey Bentley, have either you or Murray seen Aerith yet?"

"Nope sorry Sly, we haven't seen Aerith yet either. But we'll keep looking from inside the van." The turtle's voice responded back with, which caused the raccoon to let out a heavy sigh. The thief was about to regretfully call it a night and perhaps try again tomorrow. Before he got the chance however, he heard his friend's voice again when he continued with, "Wait a minute Sly, I think we've spotted Aerith. Yes it's her and she appears to be with Inspector Fox."

"Hmm, I guess that explains why she and other officers didn't show up after we robbed that museum." The black and grey furred raccoon commented, while he began to jump from one building rooftop to the other. But as he was doing this he went on with, "Okay Bentley, what direction are they headed in?"

"Well, by the looks of it Carmelita appears to be taking Aerith to the police station." The turtle stated, from the other end of the ear piece.

"Alright then I'm heading that way now. While I'm doing this though Bentley I want you and Murray to follow Carmelita and Aerith to the station without them noticing you guys." The hazel eyed raccoon instructed, after he had jumped yet another building rooftop.

"But wait a minute Sly, if Bentley and I are waiting for you outside how exactly are you going to get Aerih away from Inspector Fox?" Murray asked, before he started up the van.

Hearing this caused a smirk to spread across the thief's muzzle as he responded back with, "Don't worry buddy, I'm sure I'll find some way to sneak into the station without being noticed."

ooooooo

Aerith continued to follow behind the blue haired fox to what she assumed was going to be her office. Along the way though she softly asked, "So what questions are you planning on asking me?"

"Don't worry the things I'll be asking you should be simple enough for you to answer without much trouble." The vixen answered back, while she turned her head slightly to look at her.

The brunette nodded her head in understanding before she and the vixen stopped in front of a door. And after the policewoman had opened the door the green eyed healer asked, "So why exactly am I going to be questioned? Is there something I don't have, but should?"

"Yes, actually there is something that you'll need if you want to stay here. It's called a green card which people like you who aren't originally from here will need if you don't want any trouble from myself or any other police officer." Carmelita explained, as she walked towards her desk and pulled out a chair before sitting down in it. The young woman watched with a bit of surprise when she saw her then pull out a bottle of wine while she went on with, "So do you want something to drink?"

"Um, that's very nice of you to offer me a drink. But I'm fine right now." Aerith replied, before she pulled out the other chair and sat down as well.

"Alright that's fine." The blue haired vixen responded back with, after she had put the bottle of wine back onto the ground. She then opened up her top right drawer and pulled out a form along with a pen when she added, "Anyway though let's get this form all set up for you. So the first question is what is your full name?"

"My name is Aerith Gainsborough." The brunette answered, while she placed her hands in her lap.

"Okay, so where exactly are you from Aerith?" Carmelita questioned, as she looked away from the paper and up at her.

Once she had heard this question the healer hesitated for a moment as she had a feeling that such a question would be asked. However, she knew she had to answer it truthfully when she replied, "I'm from the planet known as Gala."

"Hmm, never heard a place called by that name. So I guess that would mean you're like Panther Caroso, he also came here from a planet that wasn't even in our galaxy." The yellow eyed policewoman noted, before she began writing on the form again. The healer smiled knowing that this seemed to be going pretty well as the vixen looked up at her and added, "But anyway let's keep going since there are only a few more questions left."

ooooooo

Sly opened the door to the empty room as quickly looked from side to side now in a police officer's uniform. While he walked down the hallway that led to Carmelita's office however, he found himself quite relieved that all of the other officers had already left for the night thus making it easier for him to get to the vixen's office without being stopped. And once he had reached the inspector's office door he squaded slightly while he slowly began to open it. Once that had been he looked to his right and saw both Aerith and Carmelita sitting at her desk. The thief knew he had to make some type of a distraction to get the blue vixen out of her office. Before he could such a thing though he heard the young woman's voice as she let out, "I know this is going to be a very personal question. So I apologize for asking you this…but why exactly did you and Sly end your relationship?"

Hearing the brunette ask such a question caused the hazel eyed raccoon's fur to stand on end when he saw the vixen responded with, "Humph, there's no need for you to ask me that type of question. But to answer it let's just say that, that no good Cooper not only broke my heart, he broke my trust along with it." The anthro thief watched while the blue haired policewoman looked to her right and went on with, "Of course that's what I get for letting my guard down around a no good criminal like him."

The statement that the vixen made caused the raccoon to stand up and open the door to her office. And while he did this he said, "And what makes you think I took advantage of you, Carmelita?"

"Cooper! Tch, you know I knew you would end up coming here." The Inspector remarked, before she pushed her chair back and stood up.

"Well, you didn't really think I would leave Aerith behind did you?" Sly countered, while he continued to walk towards the brunette. And once he next to her he then took a hold of her right hand and stood her up out of the chair. After he did this he went on with, "So are you ready to get out of here, beautiful?"

"Well, I suppose so. But now how long exactly will it take before I receive this green card?" The green eyed young woman asked, as Sly saw her stare at the vixen.

The raccoon even found himself a bit surprised when he saw her dismiss the healers warnings when she replied, "There's no need for you to worry about it. If I can pull some strings it should be ready for you by either tomorrow night or the next day."

"Hey thanks Carmelita, that's means a lot." The thief commented, with a grin on his face.

"Don't you dare think for one second that I'm doing you a favor Sly!" The yellow eyed policewoman shot back, while she slammed her hands onto her desk.

"Yeah, yeah I get it. But it's nice of you to get Aerith her green card." The black and grey furred anthro responded back with, before he the young woman began to walk towards the door. As they did this though Sly turned his attention back to Carmelita and continued with, "Oh and please understand that I did try and make what we had work. But well, when I wanted to end it I just I couldn't bring myself to tell you." He sighed heavily before he ended with, "And for that I'm sorry."

Once that had been sad the two continued on their way out of the Inspector's office. After they had left though the vixen placed a and on her forehead and whispered, "I know you meant that apology and I suppose I can accept it, Cooper. But you better not break Aerith's heart, because she seems to really like you. And if you did do that then you'll regret it for the rest of your life."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Aerith prepared herself for what she hoped would be a very busy and well profited day for her opening flower shop. She was also quite grateful that both Sly and Penelope were in the back room ready to help if the store became too busy for her to handle on her own. And even though the shop had been opened for only a few hours the young woman had already made a few profits. But after another hour passed however, the healer looked at the front door only to see Carmlita walk into the flower shop. Upon seeing the vixen she greeted her with, "Good afternoon Carmelita, what brings you here today?"

"Nothing really, I just thought I'd stop by while I was on patrol and give you this." The vixen answered back, as she pulled a card out of her right coat pocket.

And when the card was handed to the healer she soon realized it was her green card. Once she had it in her hands she smiled brightly before she replied, "Thank you so much, Carmelita. I hope this wasn't too much trouble for you."

The blue haired vixen dismissed her comment with a wave of her hand as she let out, "hey don't worry about it. Besides I told you that if I pulled some strings I could get it to you quickly."

"My, my it seems fate is on my side today since I did not expect to see two beautiful angels in the same place together." A voice commented, causing both the brunette and inspector to turn towards the entrance of the store. Once they did this the two saw none other then Panther walking towards them while he continued with, "It is very nice to you again Aerith. And you as well, Inspector Fox."

ooooooo

Sly stopped dead in his tracks with his ears up in attention while he let out with irritation in his voice, "What is he doing here?"

The hazel eyed raccoon slowly began to open the door until he had a clear view of the front counter. And once that had acquired he saw the dark purple furred feline take Aerith's hand into his own and kiss it. Seeing this however, only angered the raccoon even more as he heard the young woman's voice when she said, "Um, it's very nice to see again too, Panther."

The anthro actor let go of her hand and then turned his attention towards the orange furred vixen. Before he could say one word to her though she stopped him with, "Don't even think about it buster. If you weren't able to get my affection the first time we met you won't be able do it this time either."

"Hmm, that's quite disappointing to hear." The yellow eyed feline responded back with, before the vixen turned away from him and walked towards a nearby shelf.

"_Well, it seems like Panther's smooth talking ways won't work on Carmelita."_ Sly told himself, with a smirk now on his face.

"So Panther, what brought you to my shop today? Were you planning on buying something?" Aerith asked, which caught the raccoon's attention.

"I must be honest with you my dear, I had no intention of buying anything today." Panther answered, while the thief saw him take the brunette's right hand into both of his. He then continued with, "In actuality I came here to invite you to a party I'm having tomorrow night."

Hearing this caused Sly's eyes to go upwards along with his ears as he thought, "_Oh crud, this isn't good._"

"Oh um, thank you for the invitation Panther. But since my store just opened today I do think I'd be able to make it to your party." The green eyed healer informed the feline, before she removed her hand from his grasp.

Sly smiled smugly after seeing the displeased look on Panther's face. His good mod did not last long however, because before he knew it he saw the actor place the invitation on the counter with one hand while he gently took the brunette's chin into the other. The raccoon's expression soon became worse once the panther whispered in her ear, "Besides you and I both know that I'm the only one who can get back to your home."

The black and grey furred anthro felt his anger surprisingly raising as he saw the cat leave the flower shop. And once he was gone he closed the door and walked away from it while he let out, "Who does that guy think he is trying to trick Aerith like that. I had a feeling Panther would be a problem, but I never thought he would turn out to be this big of a problem." But instead of thinking of the negatives to the situation Sly found himself smirking when he added, "Well, if Panther's having a party then I guess he'll be having an uninvited guest attending it tomorrow night."

ooooooo

Carmelita sighed with relief once the feline had left the shop while she thought, "_Geez, I thought he'd never leave."_ The vixen then began to walk towards the door aw well to continue with her duties. Before she left the shop though the policewoman looked back at the young woman who had an uncertain look on her face, and so she told her, "You know it's your decision on whether to go to the party or not. But just so you know I'll be there anyway on duty."

"Why is that?" Aerith asked, as her gaze met the vixen's own.

"I really don't want to go, but I have no choice in the matter since officers or expected to be at a celebrities home when they have something like going on." The blue haired fox stated, with a smile on her face. She then waved goodbye and added, "So if you do decide to go then I guess I'll see you there."

**A/N: Okay so I can't believe it took me this long to get this chapter done. So I want to apologize for making all of you wait so long. But of course real life kept me away from typing for a long period of time. And with that I will try and finish the next chapter as soon as possible.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Aerith lightly sighed as she walked into the room that Bentley used as his workshop. While she did this she told herself, "_Well, it's now or never. Besides I have to be honest with Bentley about going back home."_ Once the young woman was inside the room she bent down slightly and gently tapped the turtle on his right shoulder and added, "Bentley, you're not too busy are you?"

"No, I'm not that busy at the moment Aerith. Is there something on your mind?" The green skinned anthro asked, once he had turned to look at her. The healer was glad to hear that response, but before she could say anything he went on with, "However, I'm glad that you came to talk to me since there was something that we've been keeping a secret from you for a while now."

"Oh? And what might that be?" The brunette asked, while she titled her head to the right a bit.

After she had asked this the healer took note of the worried look the anthro turtle had on his face before he answered with, "Well, you see Aerith, the time machine has been done for a few months now. But after Sly bought you that flower shop he decided not to tell you since he was afraid you would want to leave."

"Oh, I see." Aerith let out, as she turned her head away. She then made sure to calm herself before she continued with, "Thank you for telling me Bentley, but now I think I should get ready and then have Murray take me to Panther's party….if his willing to of course."

"Don't worry Aerith, I'm sure Murray will be more than happy to do that for you. And please don't hold anything against Sly. He just really cares about you and I guess he just doesn't want to lose you." Bentley stated, causing the brunette to stop walking.

She then looked at the turtle and whispered, "I-I know he cares about me. Just like how I care about him."

ooooooo

Panther smiled with satisfaction seeing all of his party guests enjoying themselves. And yet there was one in particular that he had not seen yet tonight. However, the party had only been going on for an hour at the moment so he knew she would show up sooner or later. But while he brought a red rose up to his nose he told himself, "_Hmm, wherever could my lovely angel be? I know she said that she was busy, but I highly doubt my charm went unnoticed by her yesterday."_ His grip on the stem of the flower tightened however, when he added in a hushed tone, "Unless however, that raccoon got to her and pleaded with her not to come here tonight." The feline actor soon put his anger and worries to rest once he spotted the young woman walk into the ballroom. And once he had approached her he bowed and greeted her with, "Good evening my dear, I am pleased that you were able to make it here after all. And that dress you are wearing tonight is simply beautiful."

After he had said this Panther raised his head and saw the brunette smiling at him when she replied, "Yes well actually it's thanks to my friends that I was able to finish my work early enough so that I had enough time to get ready for your party."

"Hmm, you must have very reliable friends who care about you a great deal if they were willing to help take care of your shop with you." The purple furred anthro responded with, before he placed the rose he had been holding into his front suit coat pocket. Once that had been done he proceeded to take the green eyed woman's right hand into his own before he went on with, "But enough about everyday life. I believe now would be the perfect time for you and I to share a dance together."

Unfortunately for the yellow eyed panther he never got to have that dance with Aerith because right as the two were about to start dancing he felt a finger lightly tap his shoulder along with another male's voice as the stranger asked, "Pardon me, I don't mean to intrude on the two of you. But may I cut in?"

ooooooo

Aerith continued to look at the anthro raccoon who brought his gaze over to her and asked, "And who might this be?"

"Her name is Aerith, and she is one of my many guests for this evening." The anthro cat stated, while the brunette saw Panther now staring at her.

"Ah, well it's certainly a pleasure to meet you, beautiful." The stranger said, as he brought her hand up to lips and kissed it followed by a quick wink.

Upon seeing this along with his hazel eyes and goatee the young woman asked herself, "_Sly? Why is he here? Did he maybe do this to surpise me or something/?"_ She instantly broke out of her thoughts when she saw the two were staring at her. When she realized this she smiled warmly before she added, "It's very nice to meet you as well good sir."

"Well if that is the case then perhaps you would like to share a dance with me?" The disguised thief asked, while he still held onto her hand and stood up straight.

"I would love to." The green eyed healer answered, before the two made their way onto the center of the room. Once the music had begun to play the two began to dance, but as they did this Aerith looked up at Sly and went on with, "You know I wasn't expecting you to come here tonight, Sly."

She saw the orange and black suited raccoon smugly smile at her when he answered back with, "Well, to be honest I wasn't going to come. But well, let's just say I changed my mind."

"Hmm, so you came here not worried about what Panther may say or try to do to me then?" The brunette questioned, as he spun her around a few times.

Once the thief had repositioned her he replied with, "Well, that's part of reason why I came here tonight."

Hearing this caused the young woman to become curious as she let out, 'Oh? And what might your other reason be then?"

After she had said this she felt herself being dipped slightly and while she stared into Sly's hazel eyes he responded in a hushed tone, "Sorry gorgeous, but you'll have to wait until the end of our dance to find out." And once he had brought her back up onto her feet added, "By the way Aerith, I knew that dress would look amazing on you."

Hearing this comment caused the healer to lightly blush as she remembered that the purple dress she was wearing was one of the more elegant dresses that Sly had bought for her a few days after she had ended up in Paris. "Thank you, Sly." The young woman replied, before the two slowly stopped dancing.

And once they had stopped dancing completely the green eyed human soon noticed that the thief had not let go of her hand. She was going to ask him why that was, but even before she was able to do this she found herself following him outside onto a nearby balcony. She then began to wonder what he was up when he closed both of the doors leading back inside. After this had done she finally asked, "Alright Sly, you must have a reason for bringing me outside. So what did you want to talk about?" Instead of receiving an answer right away though Aerith saw the anthro thief reach into his right pants pocket. But while he did this she added in a whisper, "Sly, what are you doing?"

When she looked up at the black and grey furred anthro's face however, she saw a very serious look which surprised her a bit as he told her, "Aerith, the reason why I brought here is because I wanted to ask you a very important question." And once the brunette saw a small black box in his right hand she found herself blushing a deep red when she saw him get down on one knee while he opened it and went on with, "So Aerith Gainsborough, will you do me the honor of taking this thief's hand in marriage?"

"I, are you certain that you would take me as a wife? I-I know that the two of us have gotten closer and have been in a relationship for a while now….." Aerith replied, before she looked away.

The only reason she looked away thought was that she could calm herself from the sudden proposal. And yet when she looked back at Sly from the corner of her eye she saw him smiling at her while he confessed, "Aerith, I know this is sudden for you since I never spoke of a word of this to anyone. But please understand that to me your an amazing person, and I'd be willing to give up being a thief if that's what it'll take to have you say yes. I-I just want to make you happy…."

Hearing these things caused a tear to fall from the healers face before she said, "Sly, you've made me so happy ever since I've met you. And I was going to wait until tomorrow to tell you this, but I've decided to stay here." She then turned back to the anthro raccoon as she continued with, "So I will marry you, but please don't give up your family's legacy because that's the person I've fallen in love with."

Once she had finished speaking the healer saw the anthro thief stand up onto his feet and quickly pull her into a quick hug as he whispered, "Thank you." He then pulled away slightly while he added, "But please if you every want to see your friends just tell either Bentley or myself and we'll get you to them at fast as we can."

"Thank you, Sly." Aerith replied, before she looked back into the ballroom and saw Panther staring at them. And right when she was about to say something she soon realized that he had begun to walk away.

ooooooo

Carmelita scouted the ballroom one last time before she saw Panther make his way past her. But inside of walking by her the vixen saw him stop before he let out, "I don't mean to alarm you, but Sly Cooper is here at the party."

"What? Where is he?!" The orange furred fox demanded, as she began to walk towards a pair of closed doors leading out onto a nearby balcony.

"If I were you I would not bother him right now." The feline warned, causing her to stop in her tracks. And even before she could ask why that was he quickly went on with, "Because he just proposed to Aerith. And from the looks of it I would say she said yes."

"Oh….I see." The blue haired policewoman whispered, before she soon realized something. She turned around to face the actor and went on with, "Wait a minute you didn't do anything to stop the proposal? That's very unlike you, Panther."

Hearing this caused the purple furred cat to lightly chuckle while he explained, "Every good gentleman, including myself must know when it is finally time to give up on a woman when she clearly loves someone else."

**A/N: And here ends this story. Now to be honest I was planning on making it a few chapter longer with a slightly different ending. But after not typing for a while (and not being able to find my notes) I just decided to go with this idea instead. I hope this story was enjoyable for all of you to read. (although I feel a few chapters were somewhat rushed) So thank you for reviewing and my next story will be a Mario and Star Fox crossover story. Of course it'll be up to guys if you want to take a look at it or not.**


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